Steam: Zuko x Katara
by Suzumi Aiko
Summary: A (very fluffy) Zutara love story continuing from "The Firebending Masters" episode. Contains spoilers and is (very) OOC and cliche at parts. I don't claim Avatar or its characters. Anyway, my first fanfic in a long, long while, so... be gentle. Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

The wind surrounding the Western Air temple was lazy that morning, hardly managing a breeze, and it made the world seem quiet and at peace. The sun also seemed to rise lazily that morning, slowly bringing light over the horizon. Katara stirred in her sleep--she was having a wonderful dream that didn't want to wake up from--but she had a strong feeling that someone was watching her. She resisted opening her eyes. She had this feeling often, and it always turned out the same.

_  
"No one's there,"_ she thought to herself. _"No one's __**ever **__there. Just stay asleep..." _But it was too late for her wonderful dream. It had already ended and been replaced by this nagging feeling, so she sighed and gave in, opening her eyes. There he sat, in the middle of her room, his dark, ruffled hair hung messily in his face and his golden-colored eyes staring unblinkingly into hers. "Zuko?!" Katara exclaimed, sitting up quickly. She pulled the blankets up with her and backed into the wall her bed rest against. For a second she thought she had been captured by the Fire-nation. Taking a better look around the semi-dark room, she remembered that she was in the Western Air Temple and that the prince had actually _joined_ the group (much to her disliking). She looked back to Zuko, who sat in the middle of her room. Her instincts sent a chill running up her spine, giving her goosebumps--the prince's presence always induced a sense of fear. Although, Katara always managed to hide it behind her anger. Still untrusting of Zuko, she began to frantically feel around for her water pouch. Not being able to find it, she felt another shock of fear. Where did she put it?! She always kept right beside her incase they got attacked in the middle of the night. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could feel droplets of sweat forming on her forehead. But she could never allow the prince to see that she felt scared, even for a moment, so she quickly composed herself--allowing her fear to turn into anger. She turned her attention once again to Zuko.

He sat there with an innocent enough look on his face, but Katara knew that face all too well, and she no longer trusted it. She eyed him--he still wore his pajamas, which were a deep blood red shirt and pant ensemble made of silk, with a subtle embroidered pattern sewn along the hems in golden thread. Although the delicate clothes the prince slept in didn't really fit his rough personality--they were beautiful, and probably more expensive than anything Katara had ever owned. Her glare deepened. It seemed everything about him, even the boy's pajamas, angered and disgusted her. She glanced down at her own set of pajamas--which were really just her underclothing--made of simple white cotton. No embroidery, no silk--just simple, plain cotton. She felt her face get hot as she realized how little clothing she wore and even though she was completely hidden behind her blankets--she felt incredibly uncomfortable. Mainly because of her lack of clothing and the fact that the prince, whom had been her enemy for so long, sat in the middle of her room saying not a word. Zuko opened his mouth to say something and then realized (a little too late) how _creepy_ this probably was, so he stopped. He really was no good at judging social situations--he was no good at figuring out what was okay and what was... weird. "Um.." he managed to murmer. "I--I seriously just got here. I was gonna wake you up, but... you--you were, uh, **sleeping** and.. Y'know, I-I didn't wanna.. I mean--It... It wasn't like I was sitting here watching you all night or something--" Katara's face turned an even deeper red with the thought of Zuko watching her sleep, but not because she was flattered--she felt angry more than anything, and well, a bit creeped out.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

Zuko stopped speaking and suddenly felt very nervous. His eyes dropped to the floor. He didn't know why she made him feel like this. Who was she anyway? She's just some Water-tribe girl who travels with the Avatar. But even still, he's felt uneasy since their last conversation together.

_  
"Give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there, __**permantantly**__." _

He took a breath and tried to calm down. It made him sad, nervous, and a bit angry that she didn't trust him. But thinking back to the caves in Ba Sing Se, he also realized that he had this coming. His anxiety climbed higher and higher as he sat there--he knew Katara was waiting for him to say something--but his mind had gone blank. Actually, it had not gone blank at all, his mind just was cluttered with all the different things he felt and wanted to say. It made it hard to keep his thoughts straight. But the look on Katara's face made it crystal clear that he should start talking, or get out. So he stopped thinking and started talking. "I just.. wanted to ask you something," he mumbled.

Katara continued to glare at him. "Well? What is it?" she asked sharply.

"I was just..." Zuko paused, raising his eyes to hers. Finding them staring at him angrily, he dropped them to the floor again. He coughed, trying to clear both his throat and thoughts. "I was just wondering why you seem to be so angry at me," Zuko blurted. Not before he uttered the last word of his sentence, he began to curse himself. That was _definitely_ not the right thing to say.

As Zuko and anyone could have predicted, Katara's face twisted into a look of fury. "Why am I **ANGRY** at you?!" she screeched, "You're really sitting in my room right now, **asking** me that?!" Zuko flinched at the loud, harsh sound of her words.

_  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid...,"_ Zuko kept thinking to himself. "I--um, I mean, I **know** why you're angry with me and I mean, I completely understand," Zuko continued hastily, "I didn't mean to say that. I just--I wanted to really apologize. I know you don't believe me, but, especially about Ba Sing Se, I'm sor--"

Katara's mind flashed back to the caves in Ba Sing Se for a moment--Back to the horrific moment where Zuko, whom she believed to have changed and become a good person, began attacking both her and Aang. And the most horrible part of the memory--when Zuko's sister, Azula, almost succeeded in _killing_ Aang. Katara formed two tight fists, her body shaking uncontrollably from anger. She didn't want to hear some stupid apology.

"You've already done all this. Get out of my room. Now." Katara spat. Zuko clenched his fist. He didn't know how much more of this humiliation he could take. He may be on the Avatar's side now, but he's still Zuko. He still has his pride. He glared at Katara.

"I'm trying to apologize!" He yelled, standing from his chair. He took a step toward Katara. "What do I have to do to make you believe me that I'm on your side?! I just want you to see that!" Katara's angry face didn't change, but one could tell she was feeling a little vulnerable as she clenched her blankets closer to her body. Zuko didn't notice though, he was infuriated by Katara's stubbornness. He took another intimidating step torward the water-tribe girl. "Actually, you know what? I don't even **care** if you trust me or believe me because I know what side I'm on now, but stop treating me like some piece of garbage! It's irritating--just treat me like you treat everyone else!" he bellowed.

Although Zuko loomed over her fuming and the fear inside her climbing, Katara managed to look down her nose at him. "Zuko, I will **never** trust you and, unfortunately for you, I don't think you're even **capable **of caring about something, or someone, like I care about Aang, Toph, and my brother--You don't even come close to being as important as they are to me. And because of that, no matter what side you **think** you're on, I'll never treat you the same as I treat them."

The angry, golden eyes softened their gaze and looked away. He stood there, defeated. She was right. Undeniably right. He didn't have a connection with anyone like she had with her brother and Aang. He combed his mind to think of someone, anyone--but even the closest person to him, his Uncle, didn't share a connection with him like the one Aang and Katara shared. He closed his eyes. "..You're right," he admitted. He felt ashamed, and pathetic.

For the first time in their whole conversation, Katara's guard dropped. She stared at Zuko, feeling a little (just a little xD) sorry for saying what she said. But she didn't apologize--she didn't say anything--she just sat on her bed and watched him stand there. Zuko finally lifted his head and his eyes met hers. By this time, the rising sun had made its way through her windows and played on her face bringing light to her dark, uncombed hair and her soft, carmel-colored skin. The sunlight crept onto Zuko's pale skin and across his scar--lighting up the sadness in his eyes. Katara looked away, it pained her to see that undeniable sadness on his face. She felt sorry for him and she didn't like feeling that way. Not about Zuko. He didn't deserve to have someone feel sorry for him. He was a confused, angry, _spoiled_ little prince who has constantly hurt her and her friends. She nodded to herself. _"That's right, that jerk doesn't deserve any sympathy. Not from me."_ She hid behind her anger once again and turned to him sharply, her wild hair dancing around her face. "Well, anyway, it'll be time for breakfast soon. So why don't you get out alr--" she started.

Zuko clenched his fists. He couldn't take it anymore.

Cutting her off without using any words this time--Zuko grabbed hold of Katara's arm, pulled her to him, and kissed her.

And as quickly as the kiss came to happen, it ended. The two teenagers had backed away from eachother clumsily. Zuko stood there looking just as shocked as Katara did. The awkard silence between the two dragged on for what felt like an eternity. Zuko stumbled back a few more steps, his face flushed and his heart beating fast. His heart wasn't alone though, Katara's heart was booming within her chest so loud she was afraid Zuko would hear it. Her face felt hot all over again, but this time, it definitely wasn't because of anger. Zuko swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and realizing what he had done, was now dreading what Katara was going to do. Fortunately for Zuko, Katara was too bewildered to be angry or worse, violent. Zuko decided that he should take advantage of this. So he nodded awkwardly toward Katara, turned stiffly, and strode out of her room.


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow, thanks for everyone who's read, responded and/or favorited my little story!! :D I honestly didn't think anyone would make it all the way through it! Haha. :3_

Anyway I'll try and keep it going, and hopefully keep it interesting! Hee hee.3 Bye!!

3 Aiko

* * *

Katara sat there in her bed, the blankets had fallen away from her body and her hair was ruffled. She fell back onto the borrowed bed, her pillows releasing a soft "poof" sound. She stared at the ceiling, flustered. Not wanting to think about what happened, she got up and did the only thing she could think of doing. The Waterbender began throwing her covers about and shaking them wildly. _"Where the hell is my water pouch?!"_ she thought furiously, _"That jerk better not have taken it!"_ She searched her totebag. Not there. Frusterated, she began to think that Zuko really _did_ take it. She looked all around the room with no luck. She stood in the middle of her room, clutching the side of her head with one hand, starting to panic a little. Her eyes noticed a pair of shoe-slippers under her bed. _"That's it. He __**had**__ to of taken it,"_ she thought angrily, _"There's no where else it could be." _Kneeling down to grab the shoes, she decided she was going to go see Zuko about it. She yanked the shoe-slippers out from beneath the bed and as she did so, she caught a glimpse of something move. She leaned down and peered underneath the bed. There lay her stiched leather water pouch. She felt slightly stupid. "Thank God," she murmered to herself. She looked around as she pulled the bag out from beneath her bed, wondering if somehow someone saw her lose her cool. Realizing that she was alone in the room, she turned her attention to her waterpouch. She started to feel a little bad for accusing Zuko of taking it, even if she only did so in her mind. _"Zuko..." _the name ran through her mind again. She sat there beside her bed, clutching her water pouch and lightly touching her lips. She shook her head furiously. _"What the hell did he do that for?! I oughta kill him, that jerk!"_ she thought. Her eyes led themselves out her window, the sun had risen well past the horizon and the wind around the Air temple had picked up some. Another chill ran up her spine and she stood from the floor, deciding she should get out of her pajamas and head outside to make breakfast.

Zuko stood just outside her door, still catching his breath from what happened. _"What the hell did I do that for?! She's gonna kill me!"_ he speculated. He felt his face getting warm again as he thought of the kiss they shared (well, that he _stole_) in Katara's dimly lit room. The feeling of her soft lips still lingered on his. Snapping back to reality, he clutched the side of his head. _"Crap! What if she tells her brother?! I'm a dead man!" _he worried to himself, even though he knew he could easily take Sokka in a fight. _"I don't even __**like**__ her--I just wanted her to shut up,"_ Zuko tried to tell himself. He heard some footsteps approaching which interrupted his thoughts. He spun around.

"Zuko?" Aang said as he approached Katara's door. The two boys stood there staring at one another. "...What're you doing here?" Aang questioned after a long pause. Zuko began to sweat a little, his eyes wide.

"Uh--Um..." Zuko stuttered. He searched for an excuse, any excuse as to why he was standing outside the Waterbender's bedroom door.

Aang just grinned. "You get lost? This is Katara's room. You turn the **other** way down the hallway to get to your room."

Zuko swallowed hard and nodded. "Y-Yeah. Oops." He chuckled uncomfortably.

Aang continued, "C'mon, everyone's outside packing up their stuff. We'll have a little breakfast and then we're gonna move on." Zuko glanced back at Katara's door. He could hear her rustling around in there. He wondered how she was going to act during breakfast. Come to think of it, he wondered how _he_ was going to act. Maybe he would just skip it. His stomach growled at him, letting him know that wasn't a good idea. Aang watched Zuko with a curious look on his face and continued talking, "So... anyway, just head down the hallway, pack your stuff, and make the first left on your way back. It'll lead out to the entrance of the temple where Sokka and Toph and everyone are getting ready to go." Aang smiled. Zuko looked over the Avatar's face, taking in the genuine smile. It wasn't often that he was smiled at. He wasn't sure that he's seen a genuine smile since he betrayed his Uncle back in Ba Sing Se. The prince cringed at the now awful memory, feeling sad and guilty. Azula smiled often, but never at Zuko. Not like he really wanted her to--her "genuine" smile was always dripping with evil and hatrid. And come to think of it, Mai, his now ex-girlfriend, never really smiled either. Her lips smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes. Yet, here's Aang, the one whom he felt was his enemy for so long--smiling at him with such ease... Like his Uncle used to. Zuko's heart wrenched once again inside of him. He turned without saying a word to the Avatar and set off towards his room.

"I'll see you out there, seifu hotman!" Aang called after him, smiling and waving. Zuko turned, his heart releasing itself a little. He almost wanted to smile. But he didn't feel worthy of smiling. Instead, he bowed and Aang returned the favor. The Avatar really had a way of making people feel at peace, without even trying. Zuko wished he could do the same, but he was nothing but the scarred face of the world's enemy. He lowered his head.

_"You know what? I'm just here to teach the Avatar Fire bending, not to make friends with Sokka and them. Aang trusts me and the training has been going well, so who cares what the rest of them think?" _Zuko thought to himself, _"...Stupid girl."_ Although, the prince did find it strange that the only person who truly seemed to trust him or include him was Aang. It puzzled Zuko since, in all actuality, Aang was the only person who had a _real_ reason to never ever trust him. He didn't understand how it was possible--he figured that Aang was just a good person or perhaps more forgiving by nature because he was the Avatar, but whatever the reason--it put the usually angry Firebender at ease. Zuko slowed in his stepping, turned back to the Avatar, and said something he doesn't say often enough.

"...Thank you," Zuko called out, slightly bowing again. Aang turned and looked a little surprised, but smiled to him.

"For what?" Aang asked. Zuko said nothing in response. He simply walked on without looking back, entering his room and closing the door behind him. Aang shrugged a little and turned to Katara's door. He knocked. "Katara! You awake?"

Katara froze at the familiar voice. Katara pulled her shirt the rest of the way over her head. "Yeah! Just a minute!" she called out. Since the day of black sun, Katara felt a little nervous around Aang, but it was a good nervous--some might describe it as having butterflies. She smiled as she pulled on her shoes and headed towards the door. She flung the door open. Seeing Aang standing there, she felt unusually happy to see him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. The Avatar tensed up, surprised at the unexpected, but pleasant greeting he received. "Good morning, Aang," she replied cheerfully, releasing him. Aang blushed a little.

"Uh, good morning, Katara," Aang murmered. He scratched the back of his head and grinned, still blushing. "You all packed?" he asked. Katara nodded and motioned toward her packed totebag hanging over her shoulder. Aang laughed, "Oh, wow. To think, you're all packed and ready to go, and Zuko can't even find his room." Katara flinched at the sound of his name.

"Zuko? What did **he **want?" Katara snapped. She clenched the strap of her totebag tightly.

Aang, not noticing Katara's bitter tone, started off toward the temple entrance and replied, "Yeah, it was pretty funny. When I got here, he was standing outside of your door, looking really confused." Katara's reflexes caused her to blush a little, but she soon recovered from the moment to scoff and roll her eyes.

"Hmph. There's a new one. Zuko's confused," Katara muttered under her breath. Aang just laughed, which made Katara smile. _"Oh well. Who cares what happened this morning or what a jerk Zuko is. I just want to be happy when I'm around Aang,"_ Katara thought. With that, she relinquished her anger, smiled big, and ran to catch up with him. As soon as she caught up, Aang started into a story, telling her about a dream he had about Appa, Sokka, and Momo. Katara laughed loudly at the ridiculous story the Avatar dreamt up, but catching a glimpse of the room at the end of the hall made her stop. Aang words faded away from her ears and before she realized it, the world had grown silent. She was no longer paying attention to the story. Instead, she was staring down the dark corridor at Zuko's door, not blinking, not laughing--not smiling. But still, she felt something. And it wasn't necessarily even anger.

"Hahahahahahaha!!"

Aang's laughter snapped her back to reality and she turned the corner with him, Zuko's door now out of sight. She smiled and joined in with Aang's laughter, laughing loudly, although she had no idea what she was laughing about.


	3. Chapter 3

_Good LORD. This chapter was SOOO hard to write.. I kinda used it entirely for developing relationships and such... It's kinda long and not so eventful, I suppose... But the next chapter is gonna be really fun and REALLY easy to write. I'm excited. Thanks for reading everyone!! Here's chapter 3!_

_Aiko_

* * *

To say that breakfast was awkward would be an understatement. The group of young refugees, runaways and benders sat in a circle around the large pot of simmering soup Katara had made. She also prepared a large bowl of fresh wild berries and some rice. The meal looked and smelled absolutely delicious. Yet, nothing was being served and nothing was being eaten. Instead, the group of oddball kids sat and watched Katara glare at Zuko. They all noticed that the moment he set foot into the main part of the temple that morning, Katara's mood had changed. The prince had wondered to himself if she was going to still be angry at breakfast, and he was right--she was. And well, contrary to most mornings, she actually had a reason. Afterall, the prince _did_ invade her bedroom and kiss her. He plopped down in the first empty spot he found and braved a peek at Katara. His eyes were met by her deadly, choleric ones. Zuko quickly averted his eyes. Yep. Definitely angry.

He glanced around the group, silently pleading for help, hoping someone would know what to say or do to stop this unbearable, tense feeling. But his confused, pleading look was only reflected back at him--the small group was just as lost as he was. He gulped. He decided the best thing to do would be to just avoid eye contact and wait for breakfast to be ready. Zuko was pleased with this decision and took a deep breath. He tried his hardest to be calm and casual and well, to seem like part of the group. But this seemed to make her even _angrier_. He sighed.

_"I shouldn't have even come out here. I should've just gone to find my own food,"_ he thought to himself. He contemplated getting up quietly and leaving before anyone noticed, even though that was beyond possible now. Everyone in the circle was staring at either him or Katara. So there he continued to sit, very stiffly, next to Aang. Sokka, who sat on the other side of Aang, exchanged a worried glance with the Avatar.

Katara glared at the exiled prince. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. To think that this (ex) enemy of theirs had the audacity to firstly, come to her room this morning and steal a kiss from her, and then _secondly_, waltz out here like nothing happened and sit himself beside Aang, where _she_ normally sat--she couldn't take it. Her nostrils flared as she furiously continued stirring the soup.

She tried to prepare herself for seeing Zuko before she came out this morning. She really did. She tried to remain calm and indifferent--but as soon as she saw Zuko's face, her blood began to boil. She couldn't stand the sight of him.

And it was apparant.

Sokka eventually leaned over Aang and whisped to Zuko, "Hey man, did something happen? I mean, I know Katara doesn't normally like you anyway, but she seems even **angrier** at you today." Aang leaned in to listen as Zuko tensed up. He knew the question would come from someone sooner or later, but he still had no idea how he was going to respond. He couldn't very well tell them the truth--but he was horrible at lying.

Luckily, he didn't need to worry about it.

"UGH!! Why's everyone so **quiet**?!" Toph demanded angrily, breaking the silence, "Why are we all just sitting here **not** eating?!"

The loud words startled (and brought some much needed relief to) the group as they turned their attention to Toph. The blind girl sat there barefoot, her eyebrows drawn downward and her pale blue eyes blankly staring across the circle, seemingly at Zuko. Zuko immediately opened his mouth to claim innocence, when he realized that her gaze wasn't necessarily pinned on him. Toph couldn't see. He breathed a sigh of relief. Zuko continuously forgot that the young girl was blind, since she senses the world so well with her feet. A pang of guilt ran over Zuko. That is, she _used_ to see with her feet--she couldn't anymore since he's burned them.

He hung his head, ashamed.

"Well--?! What's going on?!" Toph demanded to know.

"Um, Toph..." Sokka started to explain, glancing at Katara cautiously. Katara shook her head at her brother and looked gently to Toph. She smiled for the first time since Zuko had appeared that morning.

"You're right, Toph. Sorry. I'll start serving the food," she replied, smiling. Her eyes shifted to Zuko. "I was just making sure everyone was.." she paused for a moment, her eyes narrowing on his, "**Comfortable**." Zuko swallowed down the lump in his throat and looked away.

What had he done now? The firebender sighed. _"Why is everything so hard for me? I just want to fit in..."_ Zuko thought to himself hopelessly. His thoughts began to whirl around in his head, thinking of his scar and his past--of all the bad things he'd done. _"..Maybe it's just impossible for me,"_ he concluded.

Katara quickly turned her attention to the food in the center of their circle. Sokka took the chance to lighten the mood and cracked a joke about the lack of meat in the meal, making everyone laugh. With that, the tense feeling quickly deflated and everyone began talking amongst themselves. Katara sat quietly in the middle and served up portions of soup, rice and berries into their humble, oddly-shaped, wooden bowls (courtesy of Sokka). Once finished, she place them all on a tray and began handing bowls to everyone--Aang, Sokka, Toph, Teo, The Duke, Haru...

Everyone except Zuko.

By the time the last person received their food and Katara returned to her seat with hers, the tense feeling in the group had returned. The ones who'd started to eat, except Toph, had stopped. They knew something was going to happen and although it made them feel nervous--they didn't want to miss it either. Zuko glared at Katara, who had begun to eat. He felt uncomfortable, embarrassed, and vulnerable--three things he was _not_ accustomed to feeling. He felt his face grow slightly warm. Not sure what to do, he abruptly stood up from his seat. He stood there for a moment, trying to think of what would look the least awkward.

Should he excuse himself to his room? Should he just calmly go serve himself? Should he get angry? 'Cause he sure as hell _wanted_ to.

But--does he even have a _right_ to get angry? He'd done much worse to, well, _all_ of them.

His eyes drifted over to Katara who was eating happily, without any remorse of embarrassing the firebender whatsoever. Zuko growled as he felt the fury within him grow. He clenched his fists and his palms started to burn. He spun around so that his back faced the group and closed his eyes. No, he couldn't lose his cool--not if he wanted to stay a part of the group and carry out his destiny.

He couldn't let that stupid, petty, Water-tribe _brat_ get to him.

_"That's fine. I'll just go find my own food,"_ he thought to himself. He felt his palms cool. He felt slightly proud of himself as he felt his anger decrease. Feeling better, Zuko turned to bow and dismiss himself when he felt a bowl of food shove itself into his chest. He looked up, his golden eyes meeting a pair of steel gray ones.

"Here." Aang smiled.

Zuko looked down at the full bowl of food in his hands, taken aback once again from the Avatar's act of kindness. As if it were even possible, the group seemed to grow even quieter. Even Toph had stopped eating. Katara, noticing what the Airbender had done, choked a little on her food. She looked up at Aang in disbelief. Aang just responded to her surprised face with a smile.

"You forgot to get Zuko a plate of food, Katara," he replied innocently, although he knew along with the rest of them, that she hadn't forgotten him at all.

The sweet, yet all-knowing smile on Aang's face broke Katara's heart--and she actually felt a little ashamed for doing what she did. Even if Zuko was a jerk and deserved it.

Zuko stood there, in disbelief of what had happened. Although he truly appreciated the Avatar's kindness, he ended up feeling even _more_ uncomfortable having him stand up for him in front of everyone. He began to sweat as he felt their eyes piercing his skin. He felt exposed. He wasn't used to this much attention. He wasn't sure of how to handle it.

He didn't want to look around at anyone. But his eyes drew themselves to Katara, as though they couldn't help themselves.

Katara glowered at the prince--her cheeks were slightly puffy from the food she still had in them. A few grains of rice were stuck to her lips and cheek. Zuko's gaze softened a little. He looked away to keep himself from smiling or worse, laughing. But the tough Water-tribe girl didn't look so mean or tough with that food all over her face. It almost made this uncomfortable feeling worth it. While he hated the attention--Zuko had to admit to himself that it felt kind of nice to have Aang stick up for him--especially against Katara, who claimed to have such an intimate relationship with him.

He lowered his eyes down to the plate of food in his hands and his stomach started to rumble. It looked so good. Sneaking another peek at Katara's face, he found himself smiling a little. He so badly wanted to stare happily into the Waterbender's angry, puffy face while he ate her food triumphantly.

But he couldn't do it.

He wanted to hold onto some thread of hope for peace and trust, even if she wasn't going to grant it anytime soon. So instead, the smile faded from Zuko's face and he returned the plate back to Aang.

"That's okay. I'm really not very hungry anyway," he lied. Aang took the plate back, looking over the prince's face. Zuko bowed slightly to everyone and turned to go to his room. "Excuse me," he replied politely. The group looked around at one another, a bit dissapointed with the lack of confrontation.

"...That's a lie," Toph replied flatly, picking up her spoon to eat once again. Zuko looked over his shoulder to the blind girl.

Haru, whom sat beside Toph, looked confused. "Hey, I thought that you couldn't sense anything since your feet were burned," Haru unnecessarily reminded the Earthbender. "Are they healed?" he asked.

Toph shook her head, shoving a few wildberries in her mouth. She chewed as she spoke. "No, they're still burnt. I don't have to sense nothin' with my feet to know **that** was a lie. He's horrible at lying," Toph remarked matter-of-factly.

Zuko swallowed hard, his stomach releasing a soft growl. His quiet reaction and growling stomach only confirmed the lie, but he was sick of all the drama and attention over something so insignificant. He continued into his room without looking back. Katara felt a little bad as she watched the hungry Firebender turn the corner towards his room. It wasn't like she didn't want Zuko to eat--she just wasn't going to serve him. No way--There was _no way_ she would serve him. Ever.

Returning to her default feeling of anger, she began chewing the food that remained in her cheeks, deciding that, in the end, she was pretty pleased with the outcome with everything. But as her eyes led themselves around the group, she realized they were all still staring at her. Her eyes lingered on Aang's, whose eyes showed nothing but disappointment. She dropped her eyes to the ground. Aang sat back down. He started to eat. Katara felt the tenseness rise again, but now it was between her and Aang.

Looking over at the Airbender, she opened her mouth to explain herself. Aang cut her off.

"You should go apologize Katara," Aang replied sternly, not looking up from his plate.

Katara was taken aback. "W-Wait--**What**?!" she yelped. Aang lifted his head. His eyes, that normally looked so warm and kind, looked at the Waterbender girl coldly.

"You should apologize. What you did was wrong. He didn't do anything to deserve that," he replied.

With that last sentence, Katara couldn't contain herself. She couldn't believe her ears. "Are you **serious**?! Has everyone forgotten?! He's our ENEMY! He hurt you, me--**all** of us! He betrayed us in Ba Sing Se, he hunted us relentlessly, attacking our villages and hurting others to do so--I mean, he sent that combustion man after us!! And just this morning he--" she stopped herself.

Aang shot a quick glance at her, showing a bit of concern. "What? What did he do?" Aang pressed.

Katara clenched her fist, battling with the thought of telling or not telling them what happened. She snapped her head up. "Whatever. It doesn't matter--the list of horrible things he's done goes on and on! And I can't believe that you're sitting here telling me he doesn't deserve this and that you're suggesting I go **apologize** to him just because I didn't want to serve food to that jerk!"

Aang looked away. "Well, he might have been our enemy, and he may have done all those things, but he's apologized. He's my teacher and a part of our team now."

Katara folded her arms stubbornly. "Well, I'm not gonna forgive everything he's done because he gave us some **lame** apology," she spat, "And I refuse to accept him as a part of our group."

Sokka saw this conversation rising dangerously and decided to cut in, "Hey guys--I think we all need to just calm down--"

Aang looked away from her angrily. "You know--" He hesitated. Katara glanced over at him, her arms still folded.

Aang furrowed his eyebrows. "...I hate seeing you act this way. It's not like you," Aang muttered. Katara's anger and pride unraveled at these words and her heart wrenched inside her, making it hard to breathe.

She's never heard Aang talk like this. Especially to her. It hurt. Badly. She almost wanted to blurt out an apology just to try and fix everything, but at the same time, Katara couldn't believe Aang was so angry at her because of the way she was treating _Zuko_. The frusterated tears began to build up in her eyes.

Without another word, Aang stood from his seat and took his plate over to Appa, feeding him the remains. He stared down at Appa's nose, feeling conflicted. The Avatar hated to admit it, but he was disappointed in Katara. Really disappointed. He's always seen her as a forgiving, kind, optimistic person. It hurt him to see her so vengeful and cruel. Even if it was to Zuko. Giving his friend Appa a quick pat on the nose, he Airbended his way up onto the bison's back. He looked over at Katara, his eyes saddened. She stared back, tears in her eyes. Aang bowed his head slightly. He hated that she was crying. He wanted to climb down and apologize. But he just couldn't ignore how she was acting. He decided for the moment, it would be best to take a small break and maybe give her a chance to let everything that happened, sink in.

"Yip yip," Aang murmered. With that, the Air-bison lifted into the air and flew away. Within a matter of minutes, the Avatar and the bison were well out of sight.


	4. Chapter 4

_5-24-2008 EDIT: Okay... here's Chapter 4. :D I think I've finally finalized it... Sorry for anyone who had to read my rough-draft... ;; I'll make sure to proof-read the hell out of my next chapter and make the important changes before posting my next chapter.. I ended up changing and finding so many little things wrong with this one.. Sigh. _

_Anyway, onto to the next chapter--so let me know what you think!! Bye!!_

_p.s. thanks to everyone who read and reviewed so far! :D_

_Aiko_

* * *

Zuko paced inside his room. _"Ugh! Why did everything turn out like this?! I just want everything to be __**normal**__."_ He fell back on his bed. The prince sighed angrily to himself, feeling exhausted even though the day had just started. He would have probably laid there for awhile thinking about what happened, had his stomach not growled ferociously at him, causing him to writhe in pain. "Okay, okay--I got it," he told himself as he got up from the bed. He rubbed his stomach and grabbed the dual swords that rested against a wall beside his bed. He quickly slid them into their scabbard that hung over his shoulder and opened the door leading out of his room.

There Katara stood, in his doorway, holding a bowl of breakfast in her hands, her face flushed and her eyes glued to the floor. Zuko froze, his fingers gripping the door knob tightly and his eyes fixated on the Water-tribe girl. His face grew warm and he opened his mouth to say something, but realized that he had no idea of what to do or say. Katara flicked her eyes up at him and then back to the floor. She gulped.

"Uh... H-Hi," she stuttered. Zuko looked to the bowl of food in her hands, and then back up to her face.

"Um... What--" he paused, "..What are you doing here?" It was obvious what the girl had come for, but Zuko couldn't believe it. Her fingers tightly clenched the bowl in her hands, the redness on her cheeks deepening.

"I-- I just wanted to say.. T-that I'm--" she started. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her body began to shake uncontrollably as she felt a rush of emotion come over her. She didn't want to apologize to him. She should _never_ have to apologize to Zuko. But she wanted to fix things with everyone--with Aang. In the end, she just wanted to make things right, and somehow, _apologizing_ to this jerk would make everything better.

Zuko stared down at the girl that stood in front of him--the girl who speaks to him with such disdain--the girl who "accidentally" smacks him with a water-whip during training--the stubborn, petty, _obnoxious_ Water-tribe girl whom suspects his every move and humiliates him every chance she gets--this girl stood before him now, her face bright red and teeth clenched. He wasn't sure if this moment would ever come, and when he thought about it happening--the prince had imagined that he would get more of a kick out of it. And although somewhere deep inside he _did_ enjoy seeing her this way a little bit, moreso, he felt bad for her. Zuko looked away, cursing himself. How could he allow himself to feel sorry for her? The Water-tribe brat sure didn't show any compassion towards _him_.

But even still, the Firebender felt sympathy for the girl. Katara took a deep, shaky breath, drawing Zuko's attention to her once again. "I'm--I'm--" Katara sputtered clumsily, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "I'm-- I'm sor--"

His body ached as he watched her and the prince came to realize why he felt so badly for her--he knew exactly how she felt.

Zuko reached his hands out, placing them around the bowl of food, his fingertips lightly brushing against hers. "You don't have to do this," he replied sternly and sincerely. Katara felt his warm fingertips on hers, and for a moment, she felt comforted. But that faded away when she realized that _Zuko_ was touching her and quickly pulled her hands away, releasing the bowl and causing it drop to the ground. Her mouth hung open as she felt herself blush furiously. Katara uttered an exasperated noise and wiped away at her eyes. She dropped to the ground and began to clean up the mess. Zuko stared down at the food splattered all over the ground, his stomach gurgling.

He just wasn't meant to eat today.

"Wh-What happened?!" he asked angrily, "Why'd you do that?!"

She glared up at him, her face still flushed. "Don't blame me!! **You** dropped it! Why didn't you hold onto it?! I handed it to you!" she shouted. The Waterbender turned and continued to clean the mess, grumbling to herself, "God, I try and bring this jerk some food and he **spills** it..."

* * *

She sighed as she scooped away at the mess, putting it back into the bowl. "I don't even want to **be** here right now. I only came here because..." Katara mumbled, letting her voice trail off.

Zuko's nostrils flared as he felt a nip of jealously and injured pride run through him.

"...Because of **Aang**?" Zuko finished for her. Katara looked up at him, surprised. He looked away, agitated. "Well you know what? Don't worry about it. I don't need an apology from **you**. Especially a meaningless, obligatory one," he huffed.

Katara's anger grew with the sound of irritation in his voice. "Well, **good**! 'Cause I'll never apologize to you! Obligatory or not!" she shouted.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I've noticed." Katara's eyes narrowed on the firebender and she stood, dropping the bowl full of mess back to the floor.

"And just what the hell does THAT mean?!" she bellowed. Zuko looked at her--the feeling of pity he felt for the girl had left him completely and been replaced by aggravation. Katara stepped into Zuko, "Hey you--I don't have any problem apologizing! When I'm actually sorry, that is! And well, guess what?! I'm **not** sorry! I'm **not**!"

The screeching of her voice made Zuko cringe.

Katara's glare deepened at his reaction and she yelled, "Don't try and act like you're annoyed with me! **I'm** the one who's annoyed!! I--"

The prince grabbed the Waterbender roughly. A soft sound of pain released itself from her lips and she cringed as his strong hands gripped her upper arms. He was so angry with the girl, but he couldn't very well hurt her. He quietly looked over her face, furrowing his brows. She glared up at him, attempting to jerk her arms away when Zuko pulled her to him, kissing her. Katara's eyes grew wide and she struggled under his grasp but he held her tight, continuing to kiss her roughly. This time, the kiss lingered--there was no clumsy, awkwardness to stop it. Finally, pulling away only because he was out of breath, the Firebender glared down at her. Katara gasped for breath, flustered.

"Then I'm not sorry, either," he growled.

* * *

Zuko shook his head, the vision of him and Waterbender disappearing from his thoughts. He coughed, blushing furiously. What the hell was he doing daydreaming right now--and about _that_?

He looked down to see the Waterbender still grumbling to herself and picking up grains of rice from the stone floor. Well, it wasn't _all_ a daydream. Sighing at the girl, he knelt down to help her clean up. Katara tensed. As she watched the Fire-nation prince kneel down and begin to help her pick up the spilled rice and berries, she opened her mouth once again to try an apology, a thank you--anything--but no words would come out. Her throat and mouth felt extremely dry, and so she lowered her eyes, saying nothing.

After a few minutes of their usual awkward silence, Zuko hesitantly asked again, "So... What **are** you doing here?"

Katara looked up at the Firebender, his face not more than a few inches away. Somehow, she hadn't really noticed it before--but Zuko was _really_ handsome. His hair was dark and messy, his eyes deep and intense, and his face scarred, but somehow, still handsome and extremely manly. Her eyes led themselves to his chest and arms, and her thoughts flew back to this morning when he pulled her to him and...

Katara broke eye-contact, uncomfortable with where her thoughts had taken her. "I--" she started, flustered, "I just came to apologize for what happened. At breakfast."

"Oh." Zuko eyed her cautiously. "So... was that an apology then?"

Katara shot a glare at him. "**No**," she scowled. Zuko nodded and turned his attention back to the mess. Her face softened with his reaction. "I--I mean..." her voice trailing away. She sighed. It shouldn't be this hard to apologize. _"Just blurt it out, Katara!"_ she told herself. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't even _feign_ an apology to the prince.

Katara sat quietly and held the misshapened, wooden bowl on her lap. Zuko scooped the last bit of ruined food back into the bowl. He lifted his eyes to see the top of Katara's head. Her hair had really gotten long. He liked how she wore it down now and not in that childish braid thing that she used to wear. The golden eyes lowered themselves and slowly moved up her curvy body. His gaze lingered on her lips--the kiss they shared that morning, and the daydream he dreamt up a few moments ago, drifting into his mind once again. For some reason, he was captivated by those soft, pouty lips--and he felt the strong urge to kiss her again.

He didn't dare.

He looked away, uncomfortablely. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head furiously. _"What the hell do I keep thinking about that for?! With __**her**__ nonetheless,"_ he thought to himself. He sat there, thinking up an excuse. Looking down to the ground, he thought to himself, _"I think I just miss Mai..."_ Convinced, he turned back to Katara.

"Well, anyway, coincidentally, I've been wanting to say something to you, too," he stated. Katara looked to him. "I... um, I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head slightly.

There they were. The two words Katara had been trying to say for the past half an hour.

Zuko, noticing the strange look on her face, continued, "Y'know, for this morning...? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" he stopped himself. Well, he had _meant_ to... but...

So, he corrected himself. "I mean, obviously I **did**, but.. it didn't mean anything, okay?" He lifted his eyes and looked over her face, searching for any clue to what she was feeling.

Nothing. Her face was blank and her eyes empty.

He looked away. _"Why does everything have to be so awkward with her?" _he thought angrily. He cleared his throat and kept talking, "Uh, honestly, I don't even know what came over me. I think I miss my girlfriend. Well y'know--**ex** girlfriend.. Um, yeah. Anyway, I sorta left without saying anything... So, y'know--I just wanted to explain and apologiz--"

Katara clenched her fists. "**Stop** it already!" she yelled. Zuko jumped. "Stop apologizing to me!" she shouted. Zuko opened his mouth, but quickly shut it, realizing he was only going to apologize again. "It's so frusterating!" she bellowed at him. Zuko looked sadly to her. She saw his sympathetic face looking at her, and it pissed her off even more. "And stop looking at me like that!" she demanded.

"Sorry," he replied quickly.

Katara exploded. "**Stop**!" she shouted, tears forming in her eyes, "Stop saying sorry like it's so easy to say!" Katara eyes filled with tears and she blinked, the tears spilling over and rolling down her cheeks. Zuko's eyes widened. Noticing his reaction, she cursed herself, realizing that she was crying, and turned her back on the Fire-nation prince. She pushed her face into her knees, trying to muffle her shaky breaths and soft sobs. _"Damnit--I didn't want that jerk to ever see me like this,"_ she thought angrily to herself, _"Why's he gotta keep apologizing about everything?! I mean, he __**should**__ apologize--but..."_ She peeked over her knees. _"He's __**Zuko**__--prideful, angry, confused, __**obnoxious**__ Zuko. He shouldn't be able to say it so easily."_ She sighed, pushing her face back into her knees.

Seeing Katara cry made Zuko feel well, kind of uncomfortable, honestly. Watching the girl sob quietly into her knees brought him back to the caves in Ba Sing Se--where she had opened up to him and been willing to trust him. And he was able to open up to her, too.

Then he ruined it and attacked her, and her Avatar.

Pushing that thought aside, he thought more about their alone time in the glowing dungeon caves. The words had come easily that time, but this time...? He didn't have a clue of what to say. Zuko stood from where he was seated, nervously fidgeting, and trying to think of something to say--something to stop her from crying. It had to be something truthful, because he was no good at lying. Toph established that at breakfast. He closed his eyes. _"What did I say last time?"_ he thought to himself, _"What did I do?"_

Zuko stared at Katara's back, her shoulders shaking as she cried into her knees. He realized what had happened last time wasn't so much the words said, but the fact that they were alike, which had surprised, and comforted, them both. He was still a little unsure of what to say, but the prince remembered that--even though she was a southern Water-tribe native and he, a Fire-nation prince--that they had a lot in common. So, he opened his mouth and let the words pour out.

"Um, I don't know if this'll make you feel any better or anything, but I never used to be able to apologize. Or say thank you. Or.. well, anything like that. I used to see those things as signs of weakness. And well, actually, it's still pretty hard for me," he replied hastily. Katara lifted her face from her knees, listening. He continued, "I'm able say it so much **now** because, well... I know how badly I messed up." He took a quick breath and looked to Katara, who was now looking at him. He sighed. "Look... I know that I made the wrong choice in Ba Sing Se," Zuko said, lowering his head, "And... I know that my bad choices didn't start **or** end there."

"So... for that reason--I've had to grow accustomed to feeling sorry. And well, honestly, when I apologize--I don't think that I deserve forgiveness," he stated. He almost seemed like he was talking to himself at this point. "People tend to think that forgiveness is the reason to apologize. And well, maybe it's the reason for most people," Zuko murmered, "But I can't expect forgiveness from anyone." He lifted his eyes to Katara and replied sincerely, "I apologize for the sole reason that I want that person to know that I regret what I've done."

Katara's eyes widened a bit. She turned away from his sincere gaze. No way. She was _not_ buying into this. She wouldn't allow herself to.

Not again.

She wiped her eyes and turned back to him, angry. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that you don't want forgiveness from anyone. You were in my bedroom this morning practically **begging** me for it," she sneered, "What if I choose to never forgive you? I doubt you'd be okay with that."

Zuko just stared at her, as though he expected the snappy response. He didn't recall asking for her forgiveness, but supposed he had. He shrugged a little. "Well, of course I **want** to be forgiven... I think that's human nature. But... if it's your choice not to forgive me, I understand. Because I really know that I don't deserve it," he paused, "I mean... When it comes to forgiveness, I can only hope that people will be better than I have been, and I can only hope to learn from those people."

Silence filled the room and just the sound of a soft breeze could be heard coming through the windows.

"So, um--anyway, don't worry about what happened at breakfast. Even though it made me... well.. **angry**--I deserved it," he replied. He tried to force a chuckle and a smile, but it felt uncomfortable, so he stopped. Out of things to say, he walked over to Katara and extended his hand down. "Here," he mumbled awkwardly.

She eyed his hand suspiciously, but giving in to the sincerity in his eyes, placed her hand in his. He enveloped her small hand within his--and pulled her up with ease. Standing close to the prince, Katara lifted her head, looking over his face. He had comforted her. Somehow.

Zuko stared down at the Waterbender, her hand still in his. The girl looked like a mess--her face was wet and puffy from crying and her hair was wild and frizzy. He couldn't help it--he smiled and leaned in, lightly brushed his lips against hers.

Katara's eyes widened and her heart fluttered in her chest. She quickly yanked her hand away and stepped back. Zuko had kissed her. Again. Lightly touching her lips, she looked up at him.

He was smiling.

She'd never seen Zuko smile--not like that anyway. It was such a kind smile. How could he smile at her like that? She turned, her face a mixture of horror, disbelief, and guilt.

When did this happen? When had Zuko become a better person than she was? She glanced back to him, her eyes brimming with tears. Why was he being so nice to her? Why had he kissed her--_twice_?

Zuko's supposed to be angry and mean--he's supposed to be her enemy.

She looked down and realized that only one who was being angry and mean, was her. The tears fell from her eyes to the floor and Zuko's face filled with worry as he stepped toward her. "N-No, don't--" Zuko started, "I'm sor--" Katara shook her head and wiped away at her tears, sobbing softly. Zuko stopped himself from apologizing, but took another step forward. "Katara..." he uttered, concerned. Damn. He had kissed her again, and now she was crying. He didn't expect her to cry--he had expected her to smack him or yell at him. He would've preferred such a reaction, actually. Glancing at her, he watched as she wiped away the last of her tears, with her back to him. He reached out for her shoulder, "Hey--"

She whirled around, looking up at him. Startled, he stepped back.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. His eyes softened. "..I'm--I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For everything."

Zuko was stunned. And by the time he recovered, Katara had turned and fled the Firebender's room.


	5. Chapter 5

_10/6/2008: OH MY GOD! An update! Hahaha... So here's chapter 5, finally. Sorry it took me so long. I've been pretty busy and after watching the ending of the Avatar series, I had to spend some time getting over the Maiko trauma... Hahaha... sorry, but that ending was ridiculously sugary-sweet. Hahaha.. But hey, it's nickelodeon and honestly, it was as good as it could've been without making Zutara happen. Sigh. I've come to terms with it anyway. xD Haha. Anyway, so I feel like it was finally time to continue my fanfic... sorry again for taking such a long break. Haha.. Once I started writing it, it was easy to write. Anyway, enough babble. Hope you enjoy it. :D_

_Aiko_

* * *

The pair of golden eyes stared intensely out into the dark hallway that had swallowed up the Waterbender, eventually leaving behind nothing except the sound of her hasty footsteps. His chest tightened and his skin felt uncomfortably warm--just how he always felt after talking with Katara. His breathing was slow, and his eyes unblinking--and before Zuko realized it, wind was dancing through his hair as his footsteps thudded fast and heavy on the stone ground. Their sound echoed through the Air temple. The Fire-nation prince had no idea what he was doing, but he knew where his feet were taking him. He didn't know what he was going to do once he got to Katara's room and he didn't really care. Showing no signs of stopping, his legs continued to carry him swiftly down the hallway.

It just didn't feel right always leaving things this way with her--so awkward and unfinished.

Finally reaching Katara's door, Zuko's legs came to a stop and he was out of breath. The Firebender leaned his arm and head against the stone wall beside her door and sweat began to form on his forehead. The stone was cool and refreshing against his warm skin. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and leaned against the wall again, attempting to gather himself. The prince was in great shape, so it wasn't that he was tired--he was sweating and out of breath for an entirely different reason.

_"Why __**did**__ I kiss her again? Hell, why did I kiss her in the first place?"_ he wondered, frustrated at himself. He took another wipe at his forehead. Zuko leaned there against the wall, letting the cool breeze make its way down the corridor and onto his face. He stood outside Katara's door, the thoughts of what the girl meant to him; of why she seemed to linger in his mind-- swirling around in his head. _"She's nothing special--just some Water-tribe brat..." _he thought to himself. Drawing in a deep breath, he pushed himself off of the stone wall and lifted his head to stare at her door. He didn't have the answers to anything he was asking, all he _did_ know, was that he wanted to hear her voice for a little longer.

He raised his hand to knock.

"Zuko!"

_"Of __**course**__,"_ Zuko thought angrily. The prince dropped his hand to his side and cursed angrily under his breath as he spun around. "What?!" he screamed at the interruption.

Sokka stood a ways down the hall, panting. "I--I thought I saw you run by," the Water-tribe teen panted. Catching his breath, he stood upwards, "I've been looking everywhere for you."

_"Hmph. You didn't look too hard--I was in my room until now,"_ Zuko thought smugly.

"...I thought you had gone hunting for food," Sokka added, as though he read his mind. Zuko frowned a little, his stomach rumbling at the reminder that he still hadn't eaten yet. Quickly writing off his growling stomach--and Sokka for that matter--he turned back to the Waterbender's door. Sokka edged in closer, looking around nervously. "Hey, I really need to talk to you," Sokka whispered loudly, a hint of urgency in his voice. Zuko breathed an agitated sigh. Normally, he'd be curious of why Sokka was looking for him. But he didn't care why he was here. Actually, the Firebender was tempted to ignore Sokka completely and to just continue with his business of knocking on Katara's door. But there was no way he could do that. Zuko sighed to himself.

_"I'm--I'm sorry... For everything."_

The girl's soft, sincere voice repeated over and over in his head. Zuko's gaze blurred and everything around him grew quiet...

Sokka placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder and shook the prince a little. "Hey! You okay?" the Water-tribe teen whispered loudly. Zuko jumped, his eyes focusing on Sokka and the sound of Katara's voice fading away from him. Realizing that Sokka was still there and that he was not going to get to talk to Katara, the prince sighed. Sokka didn't wait for a response from the prince, but quickly quieted himself and continued speaking, "So, can I talk to you for a second?" The teen motioned with his thumb towards the temple's main area. Zuko hesitated, glancing back at Katara's closed door.

"Um, sure," Zuko murmured, defeated. It didn't matter anymore--because the prince knew that even if Sokka left _right_ then, that he wouldn't see Katara. He had lost his momentum. Zuko scowled to himself.

Blind to the angry look on the Firebender's face, Sokka urged on, "Come on, it'll only take a minute." Zuko silently complied with the request and the two teenage boys walked the down the hallway together without another word. The prince walked slowly, taking another glance back at the Waterbender's door. His lips slightly curved upwards into what could almost be called a smile--it was no big deal. He could always speak with Katara later.

Turning to Sokka, Zuko was ready to say something to break the silence, when he noticed that the usually goofy Water-tribe warrior stared straight ahead of him--his face strangely solemn. The Firebender studied the teen--Sokka didn't even look like himself with that look on his face. As they reached an isolated area of the temple, the Firebender and Water-tribe native stopped.

"So... what's up?" Zuko asked as casually as he could manage.

Sokka drew in a breath, as if now, he were a little unsure to ask. He turned to the prince. "If... If someone was captured by the Fire-nation, where would they be taken?"

Zuko was taken a little by surprise. "What? Why? Who was captured?" Sokka folded his arms across his chest, averting his eyes. He hesitated.

"..After the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were captured," Sokka murmured, "I just want to know where they might be." Zuko looked away, thinking of the boiling rock prison and the merciless, cruel guards that work there. His stomach churned.

"I can't tell you. It would just make you feel worse to know," Zuko replied. He turned to leave. Sokka quickly grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"It's my dad--he was captured," Sokka replied solemnly, his eyes staring into his. "Tell me. Please."

* * *

Katara sat in her room quietly, clenching one of her pillows against her chest. She was still shaken by her conversation with Zuko--and even moreso by the light, sweet kiss he had given her--which was very different from their first kiss. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of it, and she buried her face into the pillow she held. She'd never felt so _confused_ in her life. Her head and heart pounded as their versions of Zuko battled with one another. Pulling the pillow away from her face, she fell back onto her bed. "I can't believe I ended up apologizing to that jerk. He got to me with all that sincere crap again," she murmered to herself. She smiled as she remembered the look on his face.

She turned onto her side, smiling to herself, her cheeks still warm. _"He was so shocked.."_

Suddenly, she heard a slow knock at her door. Her heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, she got up from her bed and ran to the door.

"Zuk--!!" She exclaimed as she flung open the door.

"Oh."

Katara quickly closed her mouth, as Aang stood before her. He stood before her stiffly and awkwardly, gripping his glider as though it was helping him stay standing. His gray eyes stared into hers--and Katara felt her heart stop. _"Did I really just say __**'oh'**__ like that?! Did I really just expect __**Zuko**__ to be at my door?! What's wrong with me!?" _she panicked to herself. Pausing in her thoughts, she looked at Aang, who was now staring at his feet. Katara cursed herself, _"Damnit! Why did I say 'oh' like that?!"_

She tugged at the ends of her hair. It wasn't that she was disappointed to see Aang, not at all. Katara just wasn't expecting to see him. She was expecting... someone else. She cursed herself again as she looked away from Aang uncomfortably. The Waterbender and Airbender lingered in the stone doorway, not making eye-contact. _"Damnit, he had to of heard me,"_ Katara squeezed her eyes shut as she thought to herself, _"He had to of heard me call out Zuko's name, like some idiot."_ Sneaking another glance at him, she swallowed hard and drew in a breath.

_"Just act like nothing happened,"_ Katara thought selfishly. She didn't want to deal with explaining it to him--she didn't even want to deal with explaining it to herself. So, playing dumb, the Waterbender smiled big and looked to Aang. "Aang! You're back already?" she said cheerfully. He eyed her sadly, but said nothing. Katara's heart wrenched inside of her and she felt her skin start to prickle, as though she was wearing something itchy. Looking away once again, she scratched her arm lightly, searching for something to say. She couldn't think of anything. _"He really __**did**__ hear me,"_ she thought sadly to herself, _"..I'd better just tell him what happened... Or explain.. or __**something**__."_

Sighing, Katara looked to the Avatar. "Look, Aang--" Katara started.

But before she could finish, she heard the sound of Aang's wooden glider clattering loudly against the ground as she was pulled into a tight embrace. Her blue eyes widened as Aang's arms wrapped themselves around her. "I'm sorry for saying what I said," Aang whispered sincerely, tightening his embrace around the Water-tribe girl, "I should've known that it would be hard for you to accept Zuko. It's only been a few days after all."

Katara blinked, surprised. Eventually, she returned the embrace and buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry too."

Realizing how tightly he was holding her, Aang released her from his embrace and smiled sheepishly to her. "Uh, can we sit?" he asked. She nodded slightly and strode across her room to sit back on her bed. Aang followed close behind her, taking a seat next to her. The Avatar and Waterbender sat beside eachother quietly.

Aang lifted his eyes and looked to Katara. "You know..." he started. Katara raised her head, indicating that she was listening. "I know that you don't like Zuko--I understand why you don't. I'll understand if you never do. But all I was trying to say earlier, is that he **is** a part of our team for now... So, you should just try to get along with him," Aang mumbled hesitantly, "...For me."

Katara's eyes widened and she looked up at the Airbender, whose face was now a light shade of pink. She felt her own face grow warm and lowered her head again, staring down at her shoes. "Okay. I'll try," Katara murmered, "...For you." She felt a lump in her throat swell up and she suddenly felt guilty for thinking about the Fire-nation prince earlier. Aang's lips curved up into a warm smile as he watched Katara sit beside him. She had a guilty look on her face--he could tell she felt bad for being so mean to Zuko before. She still was the beautifully sweet Water-tribe girl that had found him in the iceberg and she had just acted the way she did before because she's protective.

_"I'll try...For you."_

His smiled broadened. He watched her as she reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear and a few strands fell loose and dangled in front of her eyes; those bright blue eyes that always filled him with such hope, the sweet, kind eyes that he knew he could always turn to when he needed help or reassurance--those deep, beautiful eyes that captivate him everytime they meet with his...

Before he knew it, he had leaned in, and was kissing her. Katara's eyes grew wide and she sat there motionless for a moment, stunned at the sudden feeling of Aang's lips pressed against hers. Her head was spinning and her heart was pounding with thoughts of the Avatar and the Fire-nation prince--from the rough kiss early this morning, followed by the sweet kiss just a half hour ago--and now the kiss from Aang. To be kissed this many times in one morning was too much.

So in one swift movement, before she could even stop herself from doing so, Katara had pushed the Avatar off of her and off her bed. "Stop!" she gasped.

Katara's eyes grew wide as she watched the Avatar tumble to the ground. Aang grunted as he rolled over and he propped himself up on his elbow. His dazed eyes led themselves to Katara. She stared down at him, shocked.

_"Crap."_


	6. Chapter 6

_11/5/2008: __Okay, so this chapter was pretty hard to write... Generally 'cause Kataang is difficult for me to write. xD;; Haha. But yeah.. I felt like I needed to write a little bit to further develop the story... Or at least the love triangle part of the story anyway. Hahaha.. So here it is. Sorry it's a short chapter.. Personally, I can't wait to write next chapter! Peace! _

_p.s. And thanks for all the awesome comments on previous chapters~_

Aiko

* * *

The longer the Avatar stared up at the Waterbender, the deeper shade of red his face turned. He got up quickly and rather clumsily, heading toward his glider and the door. Katara exhaled a sigh of relief, causing Aang to stop in the doorway. Without turning to face the Waterbender, he asked gently, "Why?"

Katara lifted her eyes to the teenage boy whom lingered in her doorway. "I—, " she started. She quickly realized that she didn't have anything to say and shut her mouth. She lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Why?" Aang repeated flatly, his back still facing Katara.

Uncomfortable and unsure of what to say, the Waterbender bit nervously on her lip. "Um.." she muttered. Aang clenched his fist and spun around, his face full of anger.

"**Why**?!" he bellowed from across the room.

Katara jumped and turned to the Avatar, yelling back the only thing that she could come up with, "Why **what**?!"

Aang's glare deepened and he marched across the room. "Why'd you push me away from you?! Why'd you tell me to stop?!" Aang asked angrily. Katara leaned back as he approached her.

"B-Because…" she stuttered.

The Airbender leaned over her yelling, "Because of **what**?!" Katara stared up at him in disbelief. She was afraid. She had never seen Aang act like this. His face inched closer to hers. "Well?!"

"I-I don't know!" Katara exclaimed.

The way Katara was shrunken back, the scared look on her face, and the pathetic excuse of an answer infuriated the Avatar even more. He reached down and tightly gripped onto Katara's shoulders. Her eyes shot upwards at him, wide and knowing all to well what he was about to do. As he pulled her up to him he had the look in his eyes—he was going to try and kiss her again. The Waterbender quickly countered and broke free, pushing Aang away from her. She glared at the Avatar. "Cut it out, Aang! What's wrong with you!?" she shouted.

Aang stood in the center of the room somberly, his shoulders slumped and eyes on the floor. The look on his face was mixture of defeat, humiliation, and most of all, hurt. "I don't know, Katara. You tell me," he muttered sadly. He leaned down and picked up his glider. Katara watched him sadly as the Airbender opened the door to leave.

"No—wait," Katara pleaded.

He hesitated and began wondering how much more humiliation he could take. The Avatar's hand lingered on the door handle. He sighed and gave in, releasing the handle. He had to hear her out. Aang slowly turned to face her. His eyes found Katara's and still feeling slightly embarrassed, quickly looked away.

"I just don't get it," he replied solemnly. He hung his head, staring at the floor through half-lidded eyes. "I mean, did I do something wrong?"

Katara felt herself wince with pain as his defeated, hurt words cut through her. "Aang…" she started. The Avatar took a deep breath and looked to the Waterbender.

"I mean--did I dream up what happened between us on the day of black sun? 'Cause I felt like… I don't know. I guess I just thought of us as together after that," Aang replied. A bit of anger and bitterness crept into his slate-gray eyes. "But I guess I was wrong," he muttered as he clenched his jaw.

Katara stood from her bed and strode across the room toward him. It was painful for her to see him act so different—so angrily and bitter. The Avatar stood in the doorway, his nostrils slightly flared and eyebrows drawn downwards. His expression quickly changed as he felt Katara's hand rest lightly on his shoulder. "Aang, you didn't do anything wrong," she said sincerely. He turned to her as she dropped her hand to her side. Her face was slightly flushed and she continued, "I feel the same as you, I do. But…" she paused, thinking about Zuko and Aang. "Um, I'm having a really weird morning. And when you came in here like that and did what you did—" she paused again and looked away, "Well, it just all happened sort of fast and well, it surprised me."

Aang felt his face get hot. "O-Oh…"

Katara rubbed her arm nervously and continued, "I didn't dislike it though. I actually…" Katara's voice trailed off as Aang lifted his eyes to her. He took a step toward her a small smile creeping onto his face, but it quickly faded when Katara shrank away from him. "But…" she started, lifting her eyes to him, "Honestly—I just think you should start focusing on what you need to do about Firelord Ozai before Souzen's comet arrives." Aang lowered his head again, clutching onto his glider.

"I mean, you're the one, Aang—the one who's going to save the world. You can't waste your time focusing on us," Katara stated. "We'll still be here when this is all over with," she reassured.

"…What if we're not though? What if I go to fight the Firelord… and I fail?" Aang muttered, fear seeping into his words. He squeezed his eyes shut at the thought of it, shaking his head. "No—I don't want to miss out on any time that we could've spent being together." He opened his eyes and stared intensely into hers.

She didn't want to admit it, but she worried about the same thing—although there was no way she'd let him know that. So instead, Katara simply smiled at her Avatar and leaned in, hugging him tightly. "You won't. You won't miss any time with me. I'm here." Aang hadn't even noticed, but his body was shaking. "I'm here," she repeated. As Katara wrapped her arms around him tighter and spoke the soothing words to him, the Airbender felt his shaking slowly decrease and he lifted his arms to return the embrace.

There they stood for a long time, together in her room, leaning against one another. Katara leaned back, her smile still on her face. Aang smiled back. The Watertribe-girl was so beautiful. Aang swallowed down the nervous lump that had formed in his throat.

"Okay, Katara. We'll just be friends," he managed. Although his face was smiling, his eyes easily read that he didn't want to just be friends, but was going to. Katara's face flushed slightly with his reaction and she leaned in, giving him a light peck on the nose.

"… For now anyway," she added. Aang laughed nervously as his face turned a deep red color.

"Oh good God—**Stop** it already. You two are making me gag."

The two teenagers jumped and led their eyes to the voice they recognized, but had still scared them. "Toph!" they both exclaimed simultaneously. The petite, blind Earthbender leaned smugly against the door frame, staring blankly into space and her arms folded across her chest. They noticed another small person peeking out from behind her. Katara and Aang both felt their faces blush even more. "Duke?!" they shouted. The kid in the over-sized helmet gave a slight wave.

"T-That's **the** Duke," he muttered sheepishly, "Uh, Toph had me take her to come find you guys since, you know, her feet… And uh—well, we found—"

Toph pushed herself off of the door frame and looked in the general direction of the Waterbender and Airbender. "**I** found something," she corrected, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket. "Momo was chewing on it. I think it's a note from Sokka and Zuko. I tried to ask Dukie here what it said, but the kid can't read."

The Duke's face blushed slightly from both being called "Dukie" and embarrassment of not being able to read. Katara gave him a sympathetic look as Aang stepped forward and asked, "What makes you say that it's a note from Sokka or Zuko?" Toph turned her face toward Aang's voice and rolled her pale blue eyes.

"Uh... maybe because they're both **gone**? You guys might've noticed if you two weren't locked up in here kissing and being mushy and crap," Toph replied bluntly.

The two turned a deep shade of red. "We-We weren't kissing!" they both exclaimed, although the Waterbender and Airbender did in fact share a kiss. Toph shrugged holding out the crumpled paper.

"Whatever. Here," Toph dismissed.

Aang reached out and snatched the paper from the Earthbender and looked down at it. "Hey, it **is** a note from Sokka," Aang confirmed as his eyes moved across the scribbled handwriting. "Need meat. Gone fishing—will be back in a couple days. Sokka and Zuko," Aang read. Katara reached out and grabbed the note from the Avatar.

"Why would he go fishing with Zuko? He knows we're supposed to be leaving soon," she muttered, her nose wrinkling a little and feeling a little betrayed by her brother. She stared intensely at the note as if it held the answers to the questions she asked.

Aang reached up and rested his hand on her shoulder. "C'mon. Let's go do some Waterbending." Toph's eyebrows furrowed as she stepped forward and reached around in front of her, grabbing onto Katara's arm.

"I don't think so twinkle-toes. I need her to work on healing my feet," Toph interrupted. "If I have to have be blind one minute longer with just Dukie here to lead me around... I think I'll kill myself." Katara laughed as the redness came back into the Duke's face. Toph leaned over to Katara and whispered not-so-quietly, "Seriously, he moves so slowly—you'd think **he** was the blind one."

The Avatar and Waterbender laughed and looked to each other, sneaking one more smile in. Katara turned to help Toph as Aang turned to comfort the Duke and the four friends headed out to the main part of the temple together.


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay! So I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this chapter.. And I sure as hell needed to write a little Zutara after all that Kataang last chapter! Hahaha.. xD _

_Oh, and while I'm here, I sorta wanna apologize for my story referencing so much to the episodes so far... I'm branching out after this one, I swear. ;P Haha.. Anyway, um, a few other things I wanna address is that I left out that one dude from the prison that tagged along with Sokka and them 'cause honestly.. he's sorta lame and I don't really feel like writing about him or attempting to give him any lines... I don't feel like he adds anything to the story. Even in the real episodes. xD_

_I was a little tempted to even leave Suki out but I figured I could maybe benefit from her and do a mini side-story love triangle...... Hahaha. Sorry ahead of time for all those Sukka/Sokki (wtf is their ship called? xD) people...... I'm warning you now. Bah hah hah._

_Anyway, enough babble! I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D_

_Aiko_

After a few slow, lazy days of training and relaxing had passed at the temple, the small group of refugees noticed something flying in from a distance around dusk. Noticing quickly that it was a Fire-nation war balloon—they readied themselves for a fight. The three benders stood ready to meet their enemies and exchanged confused glances as the large flying balloon landed in the Air temple's main area without firing once. As the balloon landed and the door opened slowly, two familiar faces emerged.

"Sokka! Zuko!" they yelled out simultaneously.

Sokka stepped out and grinned at the three benders. Zuko followed closely behind him, his eyes darting across their faces, only hesitating for a moment on Katara's. The Waterbender noticed the Fire-nation prince's slight lingering gaze and cleared her throat, looking away. Zuko mimicked her reaction, coughing and crossing his arms.

"Where'd you get this thing?" Toph asked enthusiastically.

Sokka smiled and glanced to Zuko. The prince didn't meet his gaze, keeping his eyes away from everyone. "…I guess you could say we found it," Sokka answered, shrugging a little with a sly smile on his face. Katara wrinkled her brow a little.

"Uhh… You found a **war balloon**? On a fishing trip?" she questioned. She heard Zuko scoff and directed her attention to him.

"Yeah, and?" Zuko snapped. Katara's confused expression quickly changed and she glowered at the Firebender. What was his problem? She turned her nose up at him and shrugged it off.

"Well, that's random. Did you at least catch a lot of fish?" Toph asked. Sokka's smiled broadened and he nodded excitedly.

"We did. We found the best two fish in the sea," he said as he looked back at the ship's door. Two shadows of people stepped out and walked toward them. Aang squinted as he strained to see who it was, but Katara knew exactly who it was, just from the silhouette.

"Dad!!" Katara exclaimed happily as she ran over to him. She embraced her father, tears welling up in her eyes. Suki inched out into the moonlight behind Hakoda and gave a slight wave to everyone.

"Hello again everyone," she replied.

"Suki!" Aang gasped. He turned to Sokka with a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "How? What happened?" Aang asked. "Where'd you go?"

"Well... we sort of went to a Fire-nation prison," Sokka admitted.

Zuko spectated as Aang hugged Suki and Katara pulled Sokka over to embrace him. The Firebender's golden eyes lowered to the ground as he thought of his own family. The Water-tribe family talked eagerly amongst themselves and Zuko thought of his own father and sister—and how the three of them would never share a moment like this. His mind drifted to his mother and his uncle and the prince clenched his fist, growing angry that he the only decent people left in his family were taken from him.

The thought of Mai also crept into his head, how she was the first person outside his family to accept who he was. He thought of their relationship and everything that happened between them. Finally, that last look she gave him at the Boiling Rock prison crept into his mind and the fact that she risked everything to save him. He couldn't help but think that he should've stayed or gotten her to come with him somehow.

His thoughts were soon interrupted though as he was yanked into the Water-tribe group hug along with Aang, Toph and Suki. Blinking until his eyes focused, the Firebender quickly realized that he was smashed up between Katara and Aang. He felt himself tense up as he realized his arm was pressed against Katara's, who for once, didn't seem to mind that he was so close to her. He felt his face and heart get warm and he pushed himself away from them.

The group broke apart as he pulled himself out of the center and they looked at him questionably, upset that he had broken up their moment. Staring at the ground, Zuko didn't know what to do. For the first time since he had left the Fire-nation and decided to help the Avatar, he'd felt completely accepted by their group, but now he wasn't sure if this was what he wanted. Seeing Mai again filled him with doubt and brought out his conflicted feelings. He knew that helping the Avatar was right thing for him to do for the world—but for himself? He wasn't so confident. He felt badly for the choices he's made; leaving Mai behind, hurting her, betraying his nation and family...

Zuko found himself making stranger and stranger choices the more he hung out with these people. For example, helping Sokka break into the Boiling Rock, helping him escape at all costs, making a friendship with Aang and kissing Katara… twice.

He coughed uncomfortably. "I—I'm… I think I'm gonna go to bed," Zuko muttered as his head spun around with all his thoughts. He managed to bow slightly and wandered down the hallway. They all watched him go and once he was out of sight, Toph raised her pale, blind eyes to Aang, Katara and Sokka.

"Should someone go see if he's okay?" Toph asked.

Katara's eyes showed her true concern, but her mouth spoke otherwise, "No. He's fine. He's just having one of his famous 'Zuko' moments." Toph nodded a little as the rest of the group accepted the easy answer and came together for another group hug.

The Waterbender's eyes drifted from her father and friends to the hallway that Zuko had disappeared down, feeling strange. Leaning her head on her father's chest, she worried about the Fire-nation prince—she couldn't help herself.

An hour or so later, after the initial surprise of the arrival faded—the gang, minus Zuko, all sat around a fire in the main part of the temple, talking and laughing late into the night as Sokka described the trip to the prison. Eventually everyone had chimed in sharing old stories and laughing together. Zuko lay in his bed, listening to the muffled sound of his new group of friends laugh together. He stared out the small window in his room, at the beautiful starlit night and he had to admit it to himself, he liked Aang and everyone—but he missed Mai. Watching her fight off all those prison guards to save him, going against his crazy sister's orders and seeing her eyes filled with sadness as he locked her in a prison cell… he felt as though he betrayed her in every way possible and she _still_ helped him.

Glancing out the window again, Zuko smiled a little, remembering how Mai and he would crack jokes about how much they hate beautiful nights like this, even though he knew they both secretly loved them. He sighed as thoughts of the dark-haired Fire-nation girl faded into thoughts of the dark-skinned Water-tribe girl laughing just a wall or two away. He thought of her bright blue eyes and her long brown hair that danced wildly in her face when she was angry…

He shook his head realizing where his thoughts had drifted. _"No, no—I'm only thinking like this because I miss Mai. I only kissed her those times because I'm lonely. I want Mai," _he thought to himself over and over. He rolled onto his back and pulled his blankets up over his face. Finally, after repeating this thought to himself a few hundred times, the Firebender was able to fall asleep.

At daybreak, Toph felt her toes twitch a little and she awoke to a rumbling. Opening her eyes, she soon realized that could see and feel the earth again—but it wasn't something she wanted to see. Sitting up quickly, she yelled out, "Everybody wake up!! We're under attack!" The Air temple shook violently as everyone was forced awake. Sokka sat up, half-asleep and confused.

"Are you sure it's not just an earthquake?" he asked hopefully. Toph shook her head.

"No, it's not shaking naturally! It's someone's firing at us!" Toph determined as she stood from the spot she had fallen asleep on, ready to fight. Following Toph's lead, the group of kids and Hakoda all jumped up, readying themselves for battle as well. Spotting all the war balloons that surrounded the Air temple, the Avatar soon realized there wasn't any way they could fight them all off, but they wouldn't be able to all escape very easily, either. Making a quick decision, he turned to face everyone.

"They've already surrounded us! Everyone get on Appa and get out of here!" Aang yelled, "I'll hold them off!" Katara watched Aang pull out his glider while Duke, Haru, Teo, Suki, Hakoda and Sokka complied with the Avatar's orders. The Waterbender stepped forward and stood beside the Avatar, silently indicating that she was staying to help. Aang looked at her earnestly and nodded.

"I'm staying too," Toph said as stepped up beside them. "It's been awhile since we had a good fight."

Aang smiled at his two friends. Turning to the rest of the group, he called out to Sokka, "Go on! Get everyone out of here! We'll meet up with you all later!"

Sokka noticed Katara and Toph staying behind and realized that he should stay and try to help too—but he knew he couldn't bend and wasn't sure if he'd cause more problems than anything else. Hakoda noticed his son struggling with his feelings and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want to stay and fight with them? I'll get everyone else to safety," he said. Sokka smiled to his father and nodded. Suki stepped up to Sokka, looking over his face. Toph shot a piece of earth at one of the balloons and felt her fingers twitch as she sensed Suki approaching Sokka. She stood still seeing for a moment, focusing on the shapes of the Water-tribe teen and Kyoshi warrior. Suddenly, Suki hugged Sokka tightly and Toph quickly squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to see what came next—but the blind Earthbender felt the earth with her feet. And she sensed it as Suki stood up on her tip-toes…

The temple shook again.

Toph shook her head, ridding herself of the sight of them. Katara and Aang took action and ran toward one of the war balloons together, doing a combined Waterbending attack. Suki climbed up onto Appa's back and waved to Sokka sadly. Sokka just smiled to her. "Don't worry. We won't be separated for long this time," he reassured.

Toph clenched her fists. Damnit, why did she have to see everything? She wanted so badly to turn a blind eye to what was happening—for a moment, she almost wished her feet weren't healed. But in reality, her feet _were_ healed and she was so good and sensing the earth—that it became natural instinct. She couldn't select what she could and couldn't "see". Feeling Appa lift off and watching Sokka wave, Toph dropped her eyes to the ground. She knew that she had feelings for Sokka—but she also knew that the boy would never return them.

Even though they got along better together than any Kyoshi warrior could ever get along with him.

She felt herself getting angrier and angrier, sadder and sadder—so she redirected her feelings and broke off some of the stone ground of the temple, shoving it toward one of the balloons. Sokka ran up beside Toph and yanked his sword out of its scabbard. "Okay, what's the plan, partner?" he asked. She tensed up and felt her face flush slightly.

Quickly recovering, the Earthbender punched him. "Who'd want you as a partner!?" she demanded. Sokka laughed a little and took a quick glance around the area that was quickly falling apart. Finally, he noticed someone was missing.

"Hey!" he called out. Toph looked up at him.

Katara and Aang stopped, and glanced back at him. "What is it, Sokka?" Aang yelled back at him.

The Water-tribe warrior looked around fearfully. "Where's Zuko?!" Sokka shouted. As soon as the sentence found it's end, Katara had spun around in a full circle and scanned the area hastily. Aang also did a quick glance around, shooting fire and whipping water at their enemies as he did so.

"I don't know! He didn't go with everyone on Appa?" Aang yelled back. Pieces of the ceiling broke and fell to the ground, shaking them all and almost breaking their stances.

Sokka shook his head and sheathed his sword. "I'll go get him!" he offered. Turning to head toward the hall, Sokka caught a glimpse of Katara already sprinting down the temple's narrow hallway. His eyes widened. "K-Katara!!" he yelled out. Aang turned quickly, noticing his partner was gone and had disappeared to a dangerous part of the temple. Sokka ran after his sister. Aang stopped attacking for a moment, concerned. The Water-tribe warrior caught the Avatar's worried eye and hollered to him, "Don't worry Aang!! I'll go make sure they get out okay!! You guys just worry about keeping those balloons back!" The Avatar nodded apprehensively as he and Toph continued to fight.

Zuko had woken up with the last violent rumble of the temple and was now up throwing some key items in his bag. He grabbed for his dual swords when he heard his door slam open. He turned quickly, ready to fight—but it wasn't his sister or any Fire-nation soldiers at his door—it was Katara.

But he found himself feeling just as afraid of her.

The prince jumped backwards from her as if she were contagious with a deadly disease. He tumbled over his bed, hitting the wall behind it. The Waterbender's eyes widened and entered the room hurriedly, running over to him. She knelt beside him. "Zuko! Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, concerned. Bewildered, the Firenation prince looked up at the Waterbender.

Oh, now she wanted to be _nice_ to him?

Completely confused, he got up and shook her off of him nonchalantly. "I'm fine—you just scared me. I mean, we're under attack and you're gonna burst into my room like that?" he instigated. Katara narrowed her eyes on him.

"Excuse me? What's **your** problem?! I just came in here to help you and make sure you were even awake!" she shouted. Zuko glared at her, ready to respond when the temple shook again.

Zuko stumbled a little and looking up, noticed the ceiling above Katara crack. His eyes went wide and he dove onto her, slamming both him and her against a wall as the piece of stone fell where she stood moments ago. They both stood there for a moment, pressed up against the wall and each other. Katara shook lightly between the cold stone wall and Zuko's warm body. The prince panted heavily and looked down at the Water-tribe girl shuddering beneath him. "You okay?" he breathed. She looked up at him, a look of shock and thankfulness in her eyes. Her clothes and hair were all disheveled and her cheeks a light pink…

"Katara!! Zuko!!"

Hearing the sound of Sokka's voice, Katara quickly snapped out of it and shoved Zuko off of her as he was already stumbling away from her. The Firebender turned away from her, his eyes squeezed shut and his heart pounding. _"Mai, Mai, Mai…"_ he thought to himself, _"She's not Mai."_

"Thank God you're both okay!!" the Water-tribe warrior called as he headed over. The Firebender and Waterbender both looked to him as he ran toward them. He tripped a little as the temple jerked fiercely with another attack, and the ceiling above Sokka started to crumble.

"Sokka, watch out!!" Zuko and Katara cried out. Sokka looked up and jumped backwards as the ceiling above him collapsed entirely, completely blocking the doorway to Zuko's room and the two bender's only way out.


	8. Chapter 8

_Alright, here's chapter 8! :D At this point, I don't even know what's gonna happen... I thought I knew where I was going with this but as soon as I started writing it.. something completely different came out. xD;;;; But I liked it so I'm just goin' with it! Haha.. Hope you enjoy it! Peace!_

_Aiko_

* * *

Sokka sat on the ground breathing heavily, staring at the large pile of broken stone that had almost crushed him. He jumped up and ran to the pile of rubble, pulling some of the smaller rocks away in an attempt to dig his way through. The Water-tribe native quickly realized that it was too much and stopped. "Katara!!!" he screeched, "Katara!!"

Katara was already standing on the other side of the mountain of rock that had fallen between her and her brother. Relieved to hear his voice, she also began clawing desperately at the pieces of rock. "Sokka!" she answered, "Are you okay?!" She yanked out a few larger pieces of rock throwing them behind her.

"I'm fine! I'm going to go get Toph and Aang!!" Sokka yelled, his voice breaking a little, "Just stay put, okay?"

"Okay!" Katara called back.

"_Tch, like we have any other choice,"_ Zuko thought to himself, leaning his back against a wall. He froze as he noticed tears running down the Waterbender's cheeks. She slumped down to the ground and buried her face in her arms, sobbing from fright of almost losing her brother.

Zuko exhaled deeply as he watched her. Here he was again, alone with Katara—and here she was again, vulnerable and crying.

The Fire-nation prince started to feel uncomfortable, like he always did in this situation. He felt his throat close up and his chest tightened. Zuko watched sympathetically as the Waterbender quietly wept and clenched his fists as he tried to resist going to her and comforting her.

Doing so only seemed to cause more problems for the both of them.

He knew that the last couple times they'd been alone together had ended with Zuko kissing the Water-tribe native. He couldn't allow himself to get close enough to do that again. But just standing on the other side of the room watching her lay crumpled on the floor—seemed cruel. The Firebender had to do something. He had to say something. He took a step towards her, but stopped as she began pulling more rocks from the pile, chucking them angrily and carelessly behind her.

He decided that perhaps this was a safe distance for more than one reason.

"Katara," he said from across the room. She ignored him and kept flinging pieces of stone behind her. He quickly lifted his foot as a large chunk of rock landed beside him. He sighed. "Katara—it's okay. Sokka said he was fine," he reassured. He paused as she clutched a rock in her hand, shaking. "He's okay," he repeated. She dropped the stone and began wiping at her eyes.

A soft humming noise interrupted the moment and Zuko looked away from the Waterbender. He scanned the room and stared out the window for a moment.

Not seeing anything, he turned back to Katara. Her back was still facing him and her shoulders started to shake as if she were going to start crying again. Zuko's heart pounded inside his chest as he crossed the room and stood over her. "Don't," he pleaded.

Katara opened her eyes and saw the Firebender's shadow enveloping her, quickly realized that he was standing behind her. In one swift movement, she stood up and whirled around, pushing him away.

"Get away from me!" she yelled as he staggered backwards. Regaining his balance, he stared at her, confused. She glared at him. "Every time you come near me you try to kiss me!" she shouted as though she were answering the look on his face.

His eyebrows lowered. Somehow, hearing her say that out loud (even if it was true), instantly made the prince never want to kiss her again. "What?!" he roared. "Are you nuts?! I wasn't going to kiss you!"

"Yeah, right! I bet earlier, if Sokka hadn't come when he did, that you probably would've tried to kiss me then, too!" she argued. His nostrils flared.

The audacity of this girl was endless.

"You know—you've got some nerve! I was just saving you from the ceiling that crashed down above you!" he bellowed, "Maybe you **wanted** me to kiss you again right then, but I wasn't going to!"

He had no idea if that was truth or a lie, but he had said it anyway.

Zuko breathed heavily as Katara stomped up to him. She clenched her fists, growing angry at his accusation. Regaining her cool, she tossed her hair over her shoulder as she crossed her arms and smirked. "Oh, that's right—I forgot. You have Mai," she paused, making sure he recognized her sarcasm.

"…Sokka told me what happened at the prison. You must've been pretty moved," she scoffed as she rolled her eyes. Zuko gritted his teeth, listening to the Water-tribe brat mention his girlfriend's name. "It really is quite touching. And I mean, you two are **so** perfect for each other so..." Katara continued.

"You leave Mai out of it!" Zuko shouted, stepping up to her. Katara stared up at him arrogantly.

"Why? I thought she was the whole reason you kissed me in the first place," Katara challenged. Zuko began shaking from fury as he loomed over her. The Waterbender puffed her chest up in an attempt to try and look as intimidating as the prince. They stood there glaring at each other, both trying to come up with some rebuttal, when Katara caught a glimpse of something outside the window.

Her blue eyes widened just as Zuko turned to follow her line of sight.

"Zuko!!" Katara cried out. Zuko's yellow eyes narrowed and he planted his feet firmly in front of the Waterbender.

The room filled with a mixture of blue and orange flames as the Fire-nation prince countered a blast of fire from Azula. Bringing his arms down roughly, he succeeded in both extinguishing his sister's and his own flames. The Fire-nation prince turned, taking a quick glance back at Katara to make sure she was okay. She had fallen over from the burst of energy in the room, but from what he could see, she was fine. He turned his attention back to the small window of his room from where the flames had entered. Zuko noticed Azula standing triumphantly on the deck of a war balloon hovering outside his window.

"Hello brother," she sneered as a smile spread across her face. She leaned forward on the black railing of the ship, "So this is where you've been hiding."

Zuko's glare deepened. Clenching his fists tighter, he quickly moved forward and shot a large fireball out the window at Azula. A large amount of smoke erupted from where she stood and he was pretty sure that she had countered it. The exiled prince turned to Katara. "We have to get out of here," he urged. He reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up roughly. She winced in pain, but he ignored it. He was still pissed off at her, afterall.

"Do you have your water pouch?" the Firebender asked.

She reached down to her hip and took hold of her pouch. "Yeah, it's right here," she answered.

Zuko looked back at her. "Okay, we're gonna need to try and fight her off until Aang or Toph com—"

The monastery jolted again, shaking the two benders furiously and knocking them off their feet as the attack on the temple came right through the Firebender's wall. The ceiling and walls started to crumble and Zuko lunged on top of Katara, huddling over her and protecting her as best as he could. Glancing over his shoulder to see what happened, he saw that his sister had partially crashed the war balloon through the old stone wall of the temple. His eyes widened and he clutched onto Katara, feeling more rubble fall on top of them.

"She's completely lost it!" he exclaimed.

Katara lay below the Firebender, watching in awe as her ex-enemy protected her so valiantly—despite her snarky remarks moments ago. She couldn't take the sight of it any longer. Shoving Zuko off of her, Katara pulled out her water pouch. She moved her arms upwards gracefully, but violently, as a splash of water covered the wall and the front end of the balloon. Clenching her fists, the water froze instantly into ice and Katara turned her attention to Zuko, kneeling beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Zuko nodded, clutching his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. He managed to stand up and looked over at the frozen wall she had created. "That's not going to hold them for long, you know," he informed looking at her, "Fire melts ice."

Katara glared at him. "Okay, seriously? Like I don't know that, Zuko. I was just trying to—"

"Katara?!" she heard Aang call out through the pile of rock. Katara's eyes widened and a smile broke across her face.

"Aang!!" she exclaimed. Zuko cringed as the sound of the Avatar's name came from her lips so excitedly. "Aang! You've got to get us out of here!" she cried out. She stared at the rock, waiting for it to move—waiting for it to open up so she and Zuko could escape.

But nothing happened.

A loud crash was heard as a fireball broke through the ice, melting it back down to water. Katara and Zuko dove onto opposite sides of the room, out of the way, as the fireball tumbled into the mountain of rock behind them. They turned to see Azula standing at the edge of the war balloon that was now part of the room. Zuko forced himself up and readied himself for a fight. Katara's heart pounded and she turned back to the pile of rubble.

"Aang!!" Katara screamed.

She received no answer. Zuko glanced at Katara out of the corner of his eye.

"Aang!!" Katara screeched again.

The Firebender glanced up and noticed a hole in the ceiling, remembering that it formed earlier. "Katara!" Zuko yelled, interrupting her. Katara focused her eyes on the Fire-nation prince. "We can't wait for them to help us," he declared sternly. He glared at his sister.

"We have to fight," he determined.

Azula cackled. "Go ahead and try," she challenged.

Katara reluctantly got into a Waterbending stance and out of the corner of her eye, caught Zuko making a quick gesture with his eyes. Looking above Azula, she also noticed the hole in the ceiling. She slightly nodded to the Fire-nation prince.

In an instant, the two benders had both sprinted forward, flanking the Fire-nation princess. Katara brought her arms around, bending the water that had melted to the ground and blasting it at her. Azula easily dodged the attack. As she fell, Zuko shot flames through his palms at his sister hoping to catch her off guard, but she countered it.

Somersaulting into a stance, the Fire-nation princess turned to face her two enemies, finding that they didn't face her. The two benders stood across the room from each other, staring intensely at one another. Fire-nation soldiers made their way to the front of the war balloon and began climbing over the railing into the room.

Without taking their eyes off of each other, without speaking a word—they shot a synchronized blast of their respective elements at one another, quickly filling the room with a thick steam.

Zuko felt Katara fall into his chest and he grabbed onto her, lifting her up and through the hole in the ceiling. He quickly followed after her, leaping from the ground and pulling himself through just as the fog-like steam began to clear, leaving Azula and the Fire-nation soldiers standing alone in the room.

Zuko grasped Katara's hand tightly, pulling her through the dark room above this own. It would only be a matter of time until his sister found out where they had escaped to. Raising his other hand, Katara watched as some bright flames danced upwards from his palm. After the Firebender created the small torch for light, they looked around and noticed that they were in a chapel of some sorts with old, wooden pews and a marble altar with a carving of the Air insignia in the center—all covered in a thick layer of dust and a recent layer of broken rock.

Finding the door, they exited the church, closing the door behind them. Katara used her bending to freeze the door handle to hopefully help lock the door behind them and create more of a distance between them and Azula.

Taking in the newfound sunlight and open, undisturbed area of the temple, the two benders drew in a deep breath of fresh air. Zuko extinguished the fire in his hand and turned to Katara. They both coughed and chuckled a little, happy and slightly amazed that they got away. As they shuddered from laughter, they both felt a small tug at the end of their arms and realized that they were still holding hands.

The laughter immediately ceased and they both turned a bright red. The benders quickly yanked their hands away from each other and averted their eyes.

Giving themselves their usual awkward silence and a moment to think, they began to remember the conversation they were having before Azula showed up. Katara rubbed her arm, remembering that she was the one who had actually picked the argument they had. "Uhh…" she started, glancing at the prince, his dark hair dangling in front of his scar. "Maybe we should try and find Aang?" she suggested.

Zuko turned and glared at her. He stormed past her as Katara sighed, quickly following after him.

"Zuko," Katara said. He ignored her, continuing to walk hastily down the wide, strangely undisturbed hallway. She kept up with him, thinking badly of herself for saying the things she said about Mai. "Zuko, wait—"she started again, reaching for him.

"Don't worry, we'll find your goody-goody boyfriend soon enough," the Firebender muttered as he continued to walk ahead of her. Katara stopped walking for a moment, quickly processing the insult in her head.

"Excuse me?!" Katara questioned, running to catch up with him. She grabbed onto his arm. "He's not my—" Zuko whirled around, his golden eyes angry and piercing.

"Aang—you're little boyfriend. You remember him, don't you?" Zuko sneered, "Or maybe you don't—since you always seem to find yourself at **my** door." Katara scoffed angrily at this statement, stomping her foot.

"Hey—" she started, furrowing her brow.

Zuko stepped towards her and cut her off, "You know what I think?" Katara glared up at the 17 year old Fire-nation prince, saying nothing. He smirked. "I think you really do want me to kiss you. I'd even bet that right this second you want me to kiss you. I think you like it," he cooed, leaning over her. Katara backed into the wall of the corridor and clenched her teeth as he spoke. She knew that he was only saying these things because of what she had said about him and Mai. But still, she felt afraid. He was acting like the old Zuko—the one who hunted the Avatar and was her enemy. He leaned in closer to the Waterbender, whispering, "You know what else? I think you know I miss my girlfriend like crazy and that I'll kiss any girl in sight—so you come to my door, asking me for it."

Katara slapped the prince.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment afterwards and he saw in her eyes, that he had really hurt her. She pushed past him and took off running down the hall as Zuko slowly reached up to touch his reddened cheek. It felt hot. He lowered his eyes to the ground and dropped his hand to his side. Lifting his eyes to stare down the hall where Katara had run off to, he burst into a sprint, chasing after the Waterbender.


	9. Chapter 9

_12-17-2008: Yay, another update!! I've actually had this chapter done for awhile but I recently moved out and didn't have internet soooo~... Haha.. Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy this chapter. :D Peace._

Aiko

* * *

Katara ran down the hall fighting back her angry tears, to no avail. She wasn't sure what she was more upset about—the fact that he accused her of actually liking his kisses, or the fact that he insulted her by saying that he'd only kissed her because she was there—because he missed kissing _Mai_.

The Fire-nation prince soon caught up with her and he reached out, grabbing her arm. "Katara!" he yelled. She spun around and he caught her arm, her face covered in tears and her eyes furious. Zuko swallowed hard as he looked over the Waterbender's face, remembering now that he hadn't thought of anything to say. She jerked around violently, trying to break free of the Firebender's grasp.

"Let go!" she screeched, "Let go of me!"

Zuko quickly released the girl, causing her to stumble a little, as though she wasn't really expecting him to let go. He lowered his head, a solemn look on his face. Once she regained her balance, she quickly wiped away at her face with her sleeve—she hated when he caught her crying. The Firebender reached a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I don't know," Zuko muttered. The Waterbender glared up at him, a few stray tears left behind on her cheeks.

"You don't know **what**?" Katara snapped, "You don't know why you're such an ass? I don't know why, either."

"I don't know why I kissed you," Zuko muttered.

"Twice," Katara added unnecessarily.

The Firebender lifted his golden eyes to meet hers. "Twice," he repeated quietly.

Katara's eyes softened and her heart began pounding in her chest. She took a step toward him, when an explosion down the hall interrupted. They both turned to see the doors to the chapel blown open with a blast of flames and there was only one person it could be.

Zuko clenched his fists and drew in a deep breath. Azula ran out into the hallway just as Zuko bended a massive, tumbling wall of flames down the corridor. Not waiting to see if she reversed or blocked the attack, the two benders fled down the hall, not sure where they were going—or what to say to one another.

The Waterbender glanced at the prince. She opened her mouth to try and say something, but Zuko cut her off, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a sudden turn down a stone stairway. "This way," he said.

He looked back to her still running, his eyes unreadable. He released her hand and turned away.

Katara was so confused. It_ almost _seemed as though he was trying to apologize—and as she stared at the back of the Firebender who had insulted her, but also saved her and protected her (when Aang hadn't)—the feeling she felt was puzzling. "Zuko…" she started, although she wasn't sure of what she was going to say. She wasn't even sure if she was going to be nice or mean to him. The Waterbender never knew how she was going to treat the prince, or how he was going to treat her. It seemed like things were always constantly going back and forth with him, with them. She slowed to a stop a half-way up the stairwell and asked the only question that seemed to stick out clearly in her mind.

"…Why do you keep protecting me?" she asked. Zuko slowed down on taking the last few steps of the stairway to listen. "I was being so mean to you before," she admitted, rubbing her arm. His shoulders tensed up and he continued down the steps at a walking pace.

"Well, actually, I'm always mean to you," she added quietly. She looked away from him for a moment and drew in a breath. She allowed her eyes to drift back to him and she caught a glimpse of his reddened cheek. "...I shouldn't have slapped you," she apologized.

Zuko stopped at the bottom of the stairway. He reached up, lightly touching his face and realized his cheek still felt warm. He dropped his hand away from his face. "It's okay. I deserved it." He stood there, his shoulders slowly moving up and down with each breath he took. Katara stood half-way up the steps, watching him breathe. Feeling confused, slightly angry, and awkward, Katara sighed. She started down the steps, stopping when she noticed the prince turn his face slightly towards her. "And well—" he began. The Firebender lowered his head again, his messy, dark hair covering his golden eyes and scar. "I'll always protect you," he replied quietly, "Because as much as you piss me off, I would never want to see anything bad happen to you."

Katara drew in a quick breath, her heartbeat quickening.

"Y-Y'know… For Aang's sake," he added hastily, turning away from her.

Katara's fluttering heart slowed and she nodded. "Yeah. O-Of course," she stammered, "I mean, we hate each other so that reason makes.. sense." The prince whirled around, his eyes wide. He stared up at her earnestly from the bottom of the stairs.

"I don't hate you, Katara," he insisted.

Katara felt her heartbeat speeding up again. Zuko's eyes peered deeply and genuinely into hers. The Waterbender looked away, laughing nervously with this newfound information. "Hah, it's okay Zuko. You don't need to lie—we were enemies," she muttered, "It's fine to admit it. I mean, I hate you, too." Zuko winced—he already knew that she hated him, but it was still hard to hear her say it so plainly and force another laugh—as if it were something to laugh at. The Firebender took a few steps up the stairs, until his eyes were level with hers.

"I don't hate you," he repeated. "I never have."

Katara blinked, her head starting to spin. Her face felt like the prince had set it on fire. "O-Oh," was all she could manage to breathe out. The Firebender quickly realized he was staring—and looked away uncomfortably. His thoughts involuntarily drifted to Mai and he began to feel guilty and angry with himself.

"But—that doesn't mean I like you. I just... don't hate you," Zuko murmured awkwardly, turning to descend back down the stairway. Katara stood frozen on the stairs, trying her best to interepret the Firebender's ever-conflicting words. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She reached up and rested a hand on her mother's necklace, her vision blurring as she sunk into her thoughts. The prince turned and looked back at her. "Come on, we should really keep moving," he urged. Katara quickly snapped out of her trance, nodding, and hurried down the last of the steps. They began to walk down the dark corridor together, neither the Fire-nation prince nor the Waterbender speaking another word to one another.

The two benders finally happened upon their search group and Zuko glanced to Katara. Aang, Toph, and Sokka came running towards them and Zuko watched the Waterbender smile as Aang pulled her into a hug. The hug between them lingered and Katara rested her head on Aang's shoulder. Sokka stopped in front of the Fire-nation prince and began thanking him (over and over) for getting his sister to them safely. Zuko's eyes focused on the Water-tribe warrior's grateful face. Sokka was completely blocking his view of the Avatar and the Waterbender—and that was just fine as far as Zuko was concerned. The Water-tribe teen was chattering non-stop and suddenly stopped, gazing at Zuko with a look on his face that said that he should be responding. The Firebender blinked and nodded, even though he hadn't heard a word Sokka said. This must have been the right reaction because a smile spread widely across Sokka's face. Aang had finally released Katara and led his gaze to Zuko.

"So what happened to you guys? We got to your room and I heard Katara call out... but some Fire-nation soldiers came around the corner so we had to fight them off first," Aang explained. His eyes darted back and forth between the Firebender and Waterbender. "And after we finished them off and it was clear, you guys weren't in there," Aang continued, "Nobody was." His steel gray eyes were still darting back and forth between them. Neither of the benders answered the Avatar, keeping their eyes away from him and each other.

"Yeah, then we saw the war-balloon crashed through your wall—" Sokka added in, sounding worried, "I mean—what happened?"

Zuko's face grew very serious and he looked to Sokka.

"It's Azula. She was here. She might still be here. I think she must've followed or tracked us back here from the prison," Zuko replied solemnly. Sokka, Aang and Toph looked to Katara. She nodded in comfirmation.

Everyone exchanged a worried glance. With the mention of Azula—Aang had already taken out and blown his Airbison whistle to summon Appa, as Sokka went into another round of very grateful "thank you"s to Zuko. Katara scoffed and mumbled something about not needing the Firebender's protection, but no one heard—or was listening.

After a few tense minutes passed, the large creature was in sight and the group of kids escaped hastily and safely from the Air temple.

They sat together in the large wooden saddle of the bison, flying towards the destination the group had previously agreed to meet at should something like this happen. The sun was high and bright in the sky—it was hard to imagine that so much had happened so early in the day. Aang sat in the front, holding the reigns with his hand raised to block the sun out of his eyes. Sokka sat directly behind him, holding a map and navigating where they needed to be going. Zuko and Katara sat as far away as they could from one another, their gaze in seperate directions, and Toph sat beside Zuko, resting her arms and head over the side of the saddle. It was extremely quiet, with the exception of Sokka's navigating. Aang glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was following them and snapped the reigns, causing a boost of speed from Appa.

About ten to twenty minutes passed as they flew over the sparkling waters of the ocean in silence. Sokka peered over the edge of the bison, spotting a small campsite of tents, high up on a grassy cliff over-looking the sea. He noticed Suki carrying some firewood and turned quickly to Aang. "There! There they are!" he called out excitedly. Katara sat up and leaned over the side of the bison, looking out to see what her brother had seen. Spotting the campsite, she waved excitedly and Sokka whistled. "Suki!!" he called down.

Toph flinched and felt her stomach churn. She held her breath and clenched onto the side of the saddle, trying to block the image of Sokka and Suki running to one another and kissing once they landed. She squeezed her pale green eyes shut. As her mind imagined their lips pressing together, she felt like she was going to be sick.

Zuko noticed the strained look on the Earthbender's face. He nudged her a little. "Hey, uh.. you okay?" he asked hesitantly. Toph tensed up, surprised with Zuko's concern, but quickly relaxed—glad to have a distraction.

"...I'm never going to get used to this flying stuff," the blind Earthbender muttered miserably. Zuko chuckled a little.

"Me neither," he agreed, smiling halfway. The Earthbender moved her eyes in the direction of his voice and then quickly averted her eyes.

"Besides, I gotta take a huge dump," she added, resting her head back onto her arms. Zuko looked at her, surprised, and did something that had even caught himself off guard.

He burst into laughter.

Everyone turned and looked at him in shock. Their mouths hung open and their eyes were wide, but he didn't notice. As he rolled over onto his side, the Firebender laughed harder than he'd ever laughed. Not like he'd ever laughed much before. He wasn't entirely sure why he was laughing so hard—so uncontrollably. He was obviously mostly laughing at what Toph had said—the tiny girl was so hilariously crude—but he knew that on a normal day, he _might've_ chuckled. There was something much more to this laughter that had erupted from him. It just wasn't something he'd normally find so funny, not like anyone had ever said anything like that to him before. It was starting to hurt because he was laughing so hard.

As he clenched his burning side, failing to stop himself—he figured there was only one other thing he could be laughing at—himself. He burst into another fit of laughter, and he realized how laughable it all was. His long, determined, _failed_ pursuit of the Avatar—it was something he wanted for so long. Then, almost immediately after he gave up on it, he found himself sitting here with Aang and all his friends on his Airbison, as an ally. He laughed harder, his thoughts drifting to his crazy father and sister, the hundred year war, the Fire-nation, and his current situation with Mai... The laughter slowed, but quickly built its way back up into a roar as he thought about all of the things that happened today with Katara, all their awkward moments and silences—of all the people he'd hurt, the people he'd saved—only to have them turn on him, or he on them.

Zuko clenched his side that burned intensely with the semi-crazed laughter and only now realized that Toph had joined in with him. Somehow, even with all the disturbing thoughts that came along with his laughter, it still made him happy. He didn't think he'd _ever_ laugh—not like this. Granted, this laughter had a bit of pessimism and craziness to it, but he figured this was the closest he'd ever get. As Toph rolled over and bumped into him, he realized that it wasn't the laughter making him happy at all, but the fact that he had someone that was genuinely laughing with him.

Katara felt her face flushing and Sokka frowned a bit as they watched the two laugh together. The two siblings felt a small, unexpected bit of jealousy run through them.

Getting over the initial shock of hearing Zuko laugh—Aang began to chuckle and eventually, joined in with their laughter. The Water-tribe siblings looked to the Avatar questionably. "Man, I wish I could've been a part of **that** conversation," Aang laughed. Katara forced a smile at Aang. He had no idea how badly she wished she knew what was said to cause such laughter from Zuko. She turned her attention back to the Firebender, watching him carefully—he almost didn't even look like himself when he laughed.

As they were circling in to land, Zuko couldn't breathe. He opened his eyes and drew in a much needed breath. His laughter immediately stopped and his smile faded as he noticed both Sokka and Katara looking at him. Toph hadn't noticed that Zuko stopped laughing and was still snickering loudly. She elbowed Zuko. "Hey, who knew you had a sense of humor?" she chuckled. Zuko winced a little at the elbow in his side, but kept his eyes on Katara. She was looking at him curiously and eventually looked away. The prince led his eyes to Sokka, who he could've sworn was glaring at him, but the Water-tribe warrior looked away too quickly. Zuko lowered his eyes. Toph's laughter eventually slowed to a stop and she elbowed him again. "Man, you're okay in my book, Zuko," she replied, "I mean, it's not everyday you find a **prince** that can appreciate crude humor like mine." He half-smiled at the blind girl, even though she couldn't see it. He really did appreciate it.

"Thanks," the Firebender said, looking once again to Katara. She was staring in the opposite direction, out into the clear sky.

The bison landed in a clearing near the cliff's edge. As soon as Appa's massive feet touched the Earth, Sokka and Katara were scrambling past each other to climb out and get on the ground—and away from their jealous feelings. Aang floated gently down to the ground after them. Zuko noticed Katara's haste and felt slightly annoyed by it. He threw his leg over one side of the wooden saddle to climb down after them. Then the prince noticed Toph hadn't moved at all. "Uh.. do... you need help down?" Zuko asked hesitantly. Toph shook her head, her face serious. Zuko nodded and quickly realized that she couldn't see him. "Okay," he murmured.

He climbed down.

His feet touched the ground and he shifted the thick leather strap of his bag to the center of his chest. He watched as Sokka and Suki embraced and as Katara walked off with Aang and her father. Teo, the Duke, and Haru were all heading in from the woods and rushed over to greet them. Momo flew over, chattering loudly and eventually landed on Aang's shoulder, who was laughing.

Zuko grunted at the perfect, happy little scene and realized now why he never could manage to fit in. He glanced up at the Airbison, seeing that the tiny Earthbender was still seated in the same spot. "Uh... Toph?" Zuko called out. He felt strange calling her by her name, but he supposed that was only because he never really called her anything. Now that he thought about it, the Firebender had never really had to fight against Toph. He wondered how that managed to happen.

"Are they gone?" she asked bluntly.

Zuko's eyes focused. He looked over as everyone walked further and further away. "Yeah, they're gone," he confirmed.

Instantly, Toph jumped down, landing next to the Fire-nation prince. "Good," she muttered. The Firebender looked at her curiously. She wiggled her toes and rubbed her feet into the earth, smiling. "Yep. Feels good to be able to see again," she said happily.

Zuko turned away from her and started off. "Come on," Zuko said, "We should go settle in with everyone."

"Do we have to?" Toph whined half-jokingly. Zuko chuckled a little. He had never really spoken to Toph much before and now, he wished he had. It was nice to know he wasn't the only negative person that existed in the world. It was hard not to feel that way being around Aang and everyone else all the time.

"Unfortunately," Zuko told her, smirking a little.

Toph sighed, "**Fine**."

They headed over grudgingly as Zuko's thoughts were soon overwhelmed with images of Katara and Toph's by Sokka (and Suki).

And as they drew closer to the group, somewhere deep inside they both secretly wished that they could run back, climb back up onto Appa, and fly away.


	10. Chapter 10

_2/15/09: Yay! The next chapter's done~ :D I wanted to have it up by Valentine's Day, but it still needed some fine tuning, so it's a day late. xP _

_This chapter was weird because I wrote it in sections and then pieced it all together... Hahaha.. It was __**so**__ hard to write. 'Cause I knew what I wanted to have happen, but it was hard for me to write it and have it all transition itself in a believable way. So this chapter is kinda long... And I'm sure most of you will probably think parts of it are kinda retarded, I suppose... but I'm happy with it, so there! :P Haha. _

_Um, also, it's not very descriptive, (not like a lot of my chapters really __**are**__...) so sorry. Yay~ now I can move onto chapter 11.. _

_Wow.. chapter 10. I really didn't expect it to make it this far. Hahaha... O_O Enough babble. No one reads this anyway. xD _

_Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Aiko_

* * *

With a deep sigh, the young, gray-eyed Airbender fell back onto a patch of soft, thick tall grass—he was exhausted. Since they'd arrived at their new cliffside campsite, the days had flown by. Everyday that passed by was full of nothing but sleeping (very little of it), eating, and rigorous training for the Avatar and his bending masters—as the day of Souzen's comet drew closer and closer.

Aang worked mostly on his Firebending as it was the newest element for him to learn. And with all the tiring activity involved with Zuko's methods of training and being around the constant heat of the flames—Aang was left feeling sweaty, irritated, and miserable—especially today. The sunlight was bright and warm. Every thing it touched instantly lit up and became more vibrant and beautiful. A cool breeze carried the sweet smell of the sea across the lush, grassy field and the sky above was full of huge, white clouds. As if this weren't enough, the sky that peeked out from behind those fluffy clouds was that perfect color of blue that you normally only see when someone paints it that way.

Aang laid there happily in the middle of the field, feeling the wind and breathing in the smells, while the cool soft grass danced along his exposed skin.

"Hey!! What're you doing?" Zuko hollered, interrupting his serene moment. Aang sighed as he opened his eyes.

"Zuko, I'm tired," Aang whined, not moving. "It's such a nice day. Can't we take a break?" He sat up quickly with a smile on his face. "Let's do something fun!" Aang exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I don't think so," Zuko disagreed strictly, blasting a fireball at him. Aang lowered his eyebrows and jumped up from the peaceful field. He brought his fist around and extinguished the attack.

"C'mon Zuko!!!" Aang yelled. Zuko blasted another fireball at the Avatar. Aang evaded it. "Cut it out!!" Aang demanded, his voice breaking a little.

Zuko shot blast after blast of fire at the Airbender. "I've never heard of an Avatar who whines so much!" Zuko scolded, blasting another large shot of flames at him. Aang glowered at the prince as he quickly extinguished each of the blasts, causing a large cloud of smoke to rise from where he stood. Zuko let up on his shots and watched as the smoke cleared.

Aang was gone—as expected.

The Fire-nation prince sighed angrily. "Lazy..." he muttered to himself. Although he had to admit to himself that he felt slightly impressed that the Avatar was able to block all of the attacks using Firebending instead of his other, more familiar, elements. Feeling the lightly salted sea breeze on his face and in his hair, the Firebender decided that maybe he needed a break, too.

He gazed up at the blinding white clouds and beautiful blue sky—and his thoughts instantly drifted to Katara. Turning his eyes away, Zuko quickly decided that he _didn't_ need a break. At all. He shook the image of Katara's face out of his head and headed back to the campsite. As he approached, he saw Toph doing some Earthbending off in the distance. He stood and watched for a moment.

Zuko nodded to himself as he watched. She was very good, and her moves extremly precise. Suddenly, Toph sensed he was there and smirked. She spun around, lifting a piece of the Earth and throwing it at the prince.

Yep. He could always count on Toph to provide a distraction. He grinned and dove out the way, sommersaulting into a stance. His eyes lit up with amusement and he turned, ready to spar with the Earthbender.

He was greeted by a hug instead. "Zuko!" Toph yelled happily.

She took a step back from him and socked him. "Be quicker. I almost got you that time," she laughed.

"Right," Zuko scoffed, "You weren't even close." Toph laughed in response.

Toph had greeted him this way everyday since they'd left the Air-temple on Appa. The prince had quickly grown fond of Toph—it was nice that _someone_ was excited to talk to him, and as it turned out—he was excited to talk to her, too.

It was strange, but since the Air-temple attack, he felt like everyone had distanced themselves from him even more than usual. Even Aang was treating him a little differently than he was before and the prince couldn't be quite sure as to why. Zuko figured that was most likely because Aang was preoccupied with fighting the Firelord though. The prince's memories picked at his brain, remembering the glimpse of a glare he caught on Sokka's face and how he, too, was treating the Firebender differently. He sighed. And then Suki never really warmed up to him (not like he really cared or expected her to)—nor did the rest of the group, really. And it surely wasn't anything new that Katara was avoiding him... It actually worked out better for him that she was.

The Fire-nation prince's thoughts were interrupted as he caught a waft of something delicious in the air. His eyes quickly fell upon a pot of something brewing in the center of the clearing.

"That smells good," he complimented. Toph nodded.

"Yeah, when you can smell it, that's when it's ready," she explained, "At least that's what Katara said." She shrugged as she spoke. Zuko winced slightly at hearing Katara's name outloud.

"Oh," he muttered. Toph turned, a mischeivious grin coming across her face.

"Hey, you wanna race?" Toph challenged. Zuko glanced down to her. He smirked.

"Sure."

"Sweet! This time, I've got the Duke, Hakkoda, Haru and Teo—and you've got Katara, Aang, Sokka and Suki," Toph assigned quickly. Zuko's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but the Earthbender had already set off, very quickly, in the other direction. Zuko frowned.

This was a game they both had played once a couple days ago and basically, the game was this; whenever no one was around, they'd split up and have to search for everyone they were assigned to find. Whoever found the group they were supposed to and got back the fastest would win.

It was a silly, easy enough game. Zuko admitted that it was sort of fun in an adolescent way—even though Toph would probably always win since she had the advantage of seeing things well beyond the normal eye could see.

Zuko thought about having to go and find Katara. He sighed, frustrated.

Maybe he'd just say that he couldn't find her. Toph would see right through that though, being that she can sense lies. And he was already horrible at it to begin with. But it might be worth it because there was no way she'd figure out the reason he's lying about it...

After going back and forth for a minute, he grew sick of arguing with himself and set off.

Rounding the corner of one of the nearby tents, Zuko quickly came upon Sokka and Suki. Behind Sokka's tent was where they almost always were when they weren't in plain sight. They both stumbled a little and stood up, fidgeting with random things—trying to act like they weren't making out.

Zuko sighed awkwardly, keeping his eyes away from them. "Hey guys, it's time to eat," he muttered. They nodded. He ran off, trying to think in his mind where Aang would be (he figured he'd save Katara for last)—when he realized that they were probably together. Aang's idea of a break usually meant hanging out with Katara. Zuko's nose scrunched up as he thought of what the two might be doing together. He quickly shook the thought out of his head—that was it—he wasn't going to play this game with Toph anymore.

He scowled to himself as he headed towards the woods. Hopefully he'd find them at the river where they're just doing some Waterbending. He'd stop searching for them if they weren't there.

There was no way he wanted to walk in on anything that would make things even more awkward between them. As he pushed through the trees and brush—rays of the warm sunlight peeked through the leaves that hung high over his head. Zuko walked carefully as random wild-life scurried out of his way. The prince grimaced as he compared the scattering squirrels to many of the people he'd met so far in his life. He'd managed to have the same effect on everything he came across. As he approached the riverbank, his feet slowed to a stop as he spotted them.

Zuko cursed under his breath. The prince considered going back and trying his hand at fooling Toph one last time.

The Airbender and Waterbender stood a ways away in the middle of the calm river, laughing together while practicing Waterbending. Zuko watched Katara laugh while moving a string of water fluidly between herself and Aang. He drew in a deep breath, hoping that might make him feel more brave.

It didn't.

The Firebender exhaled just as deeply. _"Might as well get this over with,"_ he thought reluctantly to himself and conitnued toward them.

"Anyway... I have something I've been wanting to ask you," Aang said as his laughter slowed to a stop. Zuko's feet froze.

Katara smiled as her own laughter winded down. "Sure, go ahead," she replied.

"Okay, you don't have to tell me but..." Aang asked, "Why are you avoiding Zuko?" The Fire-nation prince's heart stopped as the Avatar's voice echoed off the trees and rang in Zuko's ears.

The water-thread they had been passing back and forth dropped from Katara's hands as she lost her focus. "What?" she squeaked. She immediately began to cough—the high octave of her voice scratched her wind-pipes. Aang eyed her as she cleared her throat. Attempting to play off her awkward reaction, she quickly bended another string of water from the river and passed it gently to the Avatar. Aang received the flowing water and passed it back to her.

Standing on the riverbank, unnoticed, Zuko's heart thudded hard against his chest and the warm sunlight suddenly seemed like an uncomfortable harsh light, beating down over him. He ducked back, falling deeper into the shadows of the forest lining the riverbank. He held his breath. _"Crap. I can't just walk out there now..."_ Zuko thought to himself, _"They'd know I was listening."_ The Firebender clenched onto the large tree trunk he hid behind, the rough bark digging into the palms of his hands.

"Why are you avoiding Zuko?" Aang repeated.

The Waterbender coughed loudly as Aang said his name again. She stopped herself, wondering if she was being obvious. "I'm-I'm not avoiding him," Katara lied. She knew just as well as everyone else that they hadn't said a word to one another since the Air-temple. They hardly even looked at each other. She probably would've been able to forget he existed entirely if Toph or Aang didn't speak of him so much. Katara grimaced. He seemed to be the only topic Toph wanted to talk about anymore.

Katara's thoughts whirled back to the recent getaway on Appa—of the prince laughing loudly about some private joke he and the Earthbender shared. She cringed and whipped the water over to Aang. The Avatar caught the water that she had thrown at him too aggressively and gently passed it back to her. She gave him an apologetic look. Aang just smiled to her, implying she was forgiven. "I don't know, Aang. I just don't really have anything to say to him and I've been focused on helping you train," Katara lied, "I'm busy with other things and feel no need to talk to him. That's all."

"Oh," Aang replied. Katara thought that was it, but then the Airbender added hesistantly, "'Cause well..."

Katara noticed the tone in his voice as she passed the water back to him, eyeing him questionably. "What is it?" she pressed.

"Well, to be honest, I was a little jealous when I saw you and Zuko walking together in the Air-temple. Something seemed... **different** about the two of you. I thought..." his voice trailed off and he just finished with, "I don't know."

Zuko felt his face get warm as he looked to Katara. Her face was also a slight shade of pink. "What? What did you think?" she asked, a bit defensively. The question was met with silence. Katara looked away. "I'm not sure exactly what you were thinking happened but, don't. There's no way, Aang," she forced a laugh. Her mind ran through all the possibilities that Aang could've be thinking. Her face flushed a shade of red. "Never," she replied as she looked away, her nose crinkled. "Never ever," the Waterbender insisted.

The Firebender pressed his lips tightly together and felt his nostrils flare a little. She didn't have to act so disgusted. He stepped out from behind the large tree trunk and cleared his throat loudly.

Katara jumped and snapped her head around to see Zuko, her eyes wide. The golden pair of eyes and the blue pair of eyes locked onto each other as she found him standing on the river bank. The Avatar followed Katara's line of sight. "Oh—h-hey Zuko," he greeted sheepishly, waving a little. The Airbender bit his lip, thinking that the Fire-nation prince was here to drag him back to Firebending practice. "Uhh..." Aang rambled, "I can explain.. about earlier..."

Without a response from his Firebending teacher, Aang quickly realized that Zuko wasn't looking at him. His gray eyes followed Zuko's and fell on Katara. Aang frowned as he looked back and forth between them. He lowered his eyes to the water string he still had suspended in the air and, taking one more look at Katara's intense eyes and the pink color in her cheeks, "accidentally" bended the water right into her.

"Ack!" she cried out, instantly soaked. She whirled around her eyebrows drawn downward. "Aang!" she scolded. The Airbender laughed.

"Oops, sorry Katara," he apologized falsely. Katara pouted at Aang as he laughed.

"You did that on purpose!" she accused.

"No, you just weren't paying attention—" Aang teased, sticking his tongue out. He laughed. Katara splashed at him, joining in with his laughter.

"So now it's my fault?" Katara laughed as they began splashing at each other.

Zuko stood there, watching the two benders splash around in the river. A few seconds ago he was completely irritated, but that faded away when the Waterbender turned to face him with that look on her face. He had no idea what that look meant, but he knew that she didn't look angry—and that was enough to make his own anger fade.

The prince finally led his eyes away from the soaking wet Water-tribe native that wore only her under-clothes. Zuko coughed as he tried to keep his thoughts pure. His face grew warm again as he failed miserably. _"Damnit,"_ Zuko cursed in his head, _"What's **wrong** with me?"_ He glanced out at the Airbender, frowning.

There Aang stood, out there in the river so easily—laughing with her and playing in the water—while Zuko stood a good hundred yards away on the shore, feeling awkward and unable to choke out the slightest sound. The prince straightened himself up and decided to try and be more casual about it, like Aang. Zuko glanced back at Katara. His eyes glued themselves to her shoulders, neck and stomach. They were glistening with thousands of droplets of water and her wet hair was sticking to her soft, dark skin.

Katara caught him looking at her and stopped splashing.

The prince coughed, his face and body feeling like it was on fire. He quickly realized that he could never act casual when she looked like that. The sun sparkled off her body and the water trickled down her skin—he had no idea how Aang could remain so unphased. "L-Lunch," the Firebender mumbled. As soon as the word stumbled out of his mouth, Zuko strode off so quickly that he had practically run away from them. He disappeared into the trees of the dense forest.

Katara stared after him. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the Firebender's embarrassed, blushed face and now her own face was blushing again as her heart fluttered against her chest.

Aang looked at her from the corner of his eye, frowning a little again.

"See, that's what I mean," he murmered, lowering his head. Katara blinked several times and turned to the Avatar.

"W-What?" she stuttered, the flush still present on her cheeks.

"You get this look on your face," Aang replied, raising his steel gray eyes to hers, "Whenever you see him or whenever someone mentions him—it's like, you're almost... in pain or something."

Katara laughed nervously. _"'Pain' huh?"_ she thought to herself as she continued to laugh. The Water-tribe girl was unaware that her face revealed her emotions so easily. And as she noticed the Avatar frowning at her, she realized her nervous laugh was just as transparent. She stopped laughing and lowered her eyes to the rippling river they stood in. Thinking of the prince's blushing face, listening to her heart pound in her body, and feeling her chest starting to ache, she sighed.

"Yeah, I'm in pain alright..." she agreed. Aang scoffed angrily and started toward the shore.

"Great," Aang muttered as he splashed noisly through the water. Katara cringed as he stormed off. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed a hold of his hand.

"I'm in pain when I see him 'cause I don't want him to be here," she added. Aang turned to meet his eyes with hers. She tried to look sincere, but the Waterbender immediately felt guilty for lying to the Avatar. She lowered her eyes and squeezed his hand. Thinking about what she said more carefully, the Water-tribe girl realized something. She really _didn't_ want Zuko to be around—but only because she felt conflicted about her feelings for Aang when he was. She lifted her eyes as she felt Aang tug on her arm. Her heart imploded when she found the Airbender smiling warmly at her.

She didn't deserve that smile.

"That's not very nice, Katara," he said in a somewhat scolding, but playful, tone.

She tried to force a smile. "I know, I know. You want me to get along with him. But," she hesitated, "It seems like the only way we manage to get along is if we don't speak to eachother." Her eyes dropped to the rippling water of the river that had begun to calm as they stood still. "So, it really is better that we just avoid eachother," Katara replied truthfully. She frowned as she spoke the truth.

Aang noticed her sad eyes and felt sad himself.

"You know what? Honestly, I don't care if you get along with him anymore. I'm just glad that you two didn't like, bond at the Air-temple and become... **best friends**... or something," he half-joked. He cleared his throat as his thoughts drifted someplace else. The Airbender didn't really mean 'best friends' when he said it, but he couldn't make himself say what he really thought had happened. Katara smiled awkwardly to him and forced a laugh.

"Hah—"best friends"," Katara repeated. She and Zuko _definitely_ weren't best friends. She wasn't sure they could ever even be friends. She sighed to herself. Katara's head was filled with the thoughts about what the prince had said to her and what she had said to him at the Air-temple. Aang tugged on her arm.

"Come on, let's go have some lunch—I'm **starving**," he urged, smiling to her again. Katara blinked at his smiling face. How could he smile so sweetly and so sincerely at her? The Airbender pulled her along with him until they were out of the water.

Aang used his Airbending to dry himself and leaned down to grab his crumpled pile of clothes from the rocky shore. Katara stood near the water, facing away from Aang while she rung the remaining water out of her long, thick hair. Her thoughts drifted involuntarily to the Firebender's face—all the different faces he'd shown her—and her chest tightened as she struggled to breathe.

_"I don't hate you. I never have,"_ Katara thought Zuko's words to herself as she looked out at the mid-day sun reflecting off the river.

Staring at the beautiful, colorful scenery, she needed to admit it to herself. She didn't hate Zuko, either. But Katara wanted to hate him—because it would make her life a _lot_ easier.


	11. Chapter 11

_2/15/09 - Okay... I went ahead split my last chapter up... Making this Chapter 11. D: It was all chapter 10 before, but DAMN it was long... O_O;; _

_There's a little Tokka in this.. Okay, there's sorta a lot... But there's also Zutara. Which makes me happy~~ Yes! xD_

_Man, it's crazy when I think about it... I wrote two chapters at once and didn't even know it! Haha! xD Um.. this is still a long chapter (for me) 'cause I couldn't find another place to split it... ^^; So I hope you enjoy it! Peace!_

_Aiko_

Toph sat around the boiling pot of stew, her mouth watering. She wiggled her toes against the Earth. _"Where is Zuko? That loser is taking forever to get back here with Katara and Aang,"_ Toph thought to herself. She had half a mind to get up, get some food and start without them—but Katara had said once that mealtime was her favorite time to spend with everyone. The Earthbender was sure it would offend her or hurt her in some way. So she folded her arms over her grumbling stomach as she waited, along with Teo, Haru, The Duke, Suki, Sokka, and Sokka's dad. She lowered her head as only Teo sat anywhere near her. The Duke didn't want anything to do with her since she started calling him "Dukie", Haru always sat as near as he could to Sokka's Dad (probably 'cause he missed his own dad), and, of course, Sokka and Suki always sat together. She wished Zuko was here so she could talk to him. What was taking him so long anyway?

Toph sighed as she felt Sokka and Suki's fingers intertwine and listened to Suki giggle. She cringed. The Earthbender could never get away from it—away from _them_. It was irritating.

If only she could just _not_ care.

She pulled her legs closer to her body. Digging her face into her knees, she caught a glimpse of something.

Her head snapped up.

"Aang! Katara!" she cried out happily. She knew they were still a good few hundred yards away and out of sight for anyone else, but she had to distract herself. She heard relieved voices coming from all around the circle. The muffled talking and excited movements made it easier for the Earthbender to focus on other things and ignore Sokka.

He hadn't talked to her much since he returned from the Fire-nation prison with Suki. Her heart wrenched inside her chest at the thought of how much easier it was for him to ignore her than it was for her to ignore him. Because, lucky for him, he didn't have the ability to see _everything_ she did within a mile radius. She shuddered.

Soon enough, Katara and Aang came into view and ran over to join them. Toph felt the Waterbender hesitate as she approached, but it was only a split second hesitation. Then she was in the center of the circle serving up the stew she made.

"Sorry guys, we lost track of time," Katara apologized. She glanced at the Airbender. "You can blame Aang," she teased.

"And just how is it my fault?" Aang laughed.

"Well, I figure everything else is your fault, what, with the hundred year war—" Katara stuck her tongue out.

"Ouch—that's such a low blow, Katara!" Aang exclaimed as she giggled. Everyone joined in with their laughter.

Toph rolled her eyes at their affectionate behavior. They were so—_obnoxious_. Here they are, they like each other, they disgust everyone around them with their cutesy crap—but they aren't together. The Earthbender growled. The blind girl had asked Katara lots of times why they weren't together. And when the Waterbender would try to explain, she'd eventually give up and say, "it's complicated". Toph frowned as she listened to them laugh together.

Those two were idiots. They're making it complicated to be obnoxious. What they have isn't complicated—what they have is simple. They like each other, so they should be together.

The end.

Katara handed Toph a bowl and the blind Earthbender could feel the Waterbender smiling, so she returned the smile. "Took you long enough," Toph snickered. Katara just ruffled her short, black hair and continued on to give Teo his lunch. Toph smiled as the aroma from the stew drifted into her nostrils. As she dug in, she thought about Katara. The blind Earthbender had grown to love her and all her annoying, nagging tendencies. She was practically like an older sister to her. The Waterbender was kind, protective, wise (about certain things anyway), strong, smart, and on top of everything else, she was girly. Katara did all the things that girls do—really well, at that—and she could kick some serious ass. Toph sighed as she chewed her food.

She glanced across the circle at Sokka. If only she could just think of him as an older brother.

Suki caught Toph's eye on Sokka and leaned over, spoon feeding him off of her spoon. Sokka laughed and made an over-exaggerated "Mom" sound. Toph choked on her food. She banged her fist against her chest, trying to help the large chunk of potato get down her esophagus, but it didn't help. Her throat was completely plugged and suddenly, her chest heaved as she tried to take a breath.

The blind bender panicked. She tried again and again to take a breath, but no air reached her lungs.

"Toph?" Katara cried out immediately, "What happened? Are you okay?" Toph felt Katara patting her hard on the back and the world went blurry as the Earthbender's breathing stopped in her throat.

"Toph?" she heard a voice break over everyone else's. "Toph!" She felt herself get lifted from the ground. "What're you doing? Don't you all just sit there, do something!"

"Hey, we're trying, okay?" Katara screeched back at Zuko, "Why don't you back off?"

"What are you 'trying'? Patting her on the back?" Zuko argued. "That's not gonna do anything! It actually makes it worse!"

"Says who?" Katara squealed back.

"Cut it out, guys! Here, give her to me. I'm gonna try something. Move—move!" Sokka called out hastily as Toph felt herself get transferred to Sokka's arms.

She felt his chest expand against her back as he drew in a deep breath. He pulled the Earthbender against him hard, trying to project the food out of her throat, by pulling in on her chest. He did it two or three times. "Come on Toph, come on..." Sokka whispered in her ear, "Don't do this.." He pulled against her ribcage so hard that it hurt and the potato flew out of her mouth. Toph coughed and gasped at the air, feeling like she couldn't get a deep enough breath. "Toph!" Sokka exclaimed.

Slowly, she regained consciousness.

"Toph? Are you okay?" Sokka asked hurriedly, "Here, how many fingers is Aang holding up?"

Aang quickly threw up 3 fingers.

Toph frowned, her cheeks flushing as Sokka held her. She coughed, still trying to catch her breath. "I can't see with you carrying me, you idiot," she murmured.

"Oh, right," Sokka replied. Sokka's heart pounded in his chest and Toph felt it as he set her on the ground. Her face flushed a deeper shade of pink.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked. "What were you thinking? Chew your food better!" Toph smiled when she heard the Firebender's voice and the most retarded, but genuinely concerned scolding she'd ever heard.

"Hey hot head. When did you get here?" she asked nonchalantly. Katara grimaced disapprovingly as Zuko smiled. Everyone was chattering excitedly and eventually, people began drifting back towards their bowls of food. Hakoda patted Sokka on the shoulder.

"Did your mom teach you that?" he asked proudly. Sokka nodded sheepishly.

Toph's feet twitched a little as Suki stepped towards her from behind Sokka.

"Hey. Toph," she spoke sternly. Everyone turned their attention to Suki.

The Earthbender scowled at her. The Kyoshi warrior always treated her like a child—and it irritated Toph to no end. Probably more than it normally would because she was with Sokka, but either way, the Earthbender was instantly irritated whenever Suki spoke to her.

"What?" the Earthbender snapped.

"You know, a 'thank you' or something like that might be good now," Suki suggested, "Sokka just **saved** your life." Everyone grew quiet. Suki looked around the group. "What? She should. She never says thank you for anything. It's... rude," the Kyoshi warrior emphasized the last word.

Toph glared in the direction of the Kyoshi warrior.

Sokka turned back and forth between Suki and Toph. "Suki! No, Toph. I mean, well—you don't have to—"

Toph lowered her eyes._"Ugh. What's her __**problem**__?"_ Toph thought to herself. She felt the ground as the remaining group of people stood around her, looming over her. The Earthbender furrowed her brow as she watched the Kyoshi warrior stand there with her judgmental stance and her skinny arms folded over her chest. "Tch, fine. You want me to say thank you?" Toph mumbled, raising her head.

Sokka tensed up as she moved closer to him.

"H-Hey. I'm not the one who told you that you needed to say thanks," Sokka stammered, shrinking back a little, "So don't punch me or anything, okay?"

Toph's shoulders relaxed. He was such an idiot. She smiled slightly to herself as her cheeks grew warm. "You either," she whispered.

Sokka relaxed and leaned toward her. He wasn't sure he'd heard her right. "What? Why would I pun—"

Quickly, the blind girl stepped up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. The whole group reacted, some loudly, most of them quietly—but Toph wasn't paying attention. She was feeling the Earth with her toes, listening to the speeding sound of Sokka's heart beat. She pulled her lips away from his and grinned up at him. "Thanks for saving my life, Sokka," she replied both sincerely and sarcastically.

She felt her heart bubbling over with happiness. He didn't push her away. He didn't pull away. He didn't respond at all, really. But his heart gave him away and that was enough to convince Toph that maybe he had some feelings in there for her, too. Toph took a step back from him, smiling. She didn't realize before, but everyone was standing pretty closely together. That must've been really weird for her to kiss him with everyone so close. She bit a little on her bottom lip as she thought of the feeling of his lips against hers and realized that she didn't care.

As she rolled back onto the balls of her feet, she felt an angry shuddering nearby. The blind Earthbender glanced over at Suki. She was fuming. Toph simply grinned at her and strode off in the other direction.

"Well, I'm not hungry anymore," Toph announced as she walked off, "Something about almost-choking-to-death takes away your appetite."

Everyone stood there in silent shock.

Finally Zuko broke the silence with a snort as he caught a glimpse of Suki's face. He turned his face away and used every ounce of himself to not laugh. Katara glared at him as he attempted to muffle his laughter.

"Oh real mature, Zuko," she snapped, "Where'd you disappear to anyway, huh?" Zuko coughed, immediately choking his laughter back—she'd noticed he wasn't there. He felt the warmth creeping back into his face and he looked away from her.

"Hmph. How's that your business?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. Katara nostrils flared as Aang quickly stepped in and dragged her away to their bowls that they had left behind in the chaos.

Suki smacked Sokka in the head and snapped him out of his trance. She glared up at him with a slight pout on her face as Sokka's face still looked stunned—his blue eyes blinking for the first time since Toph kissed him.

Suki stomped her foot and she swatted at him. "Ow! What!" Sokka reacted, trying to block her attacks.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Suki asked.

"I-I—" Sokka stammered. "I didn't know she was gonna do that!" he exclaimed, his face flushed, "I thought she was gonna punch me, not—"

"Yeah, but she kissed you for a good 2 seconds! You should've pushed her away!" Suki argued, pouting. Sokka frowned as he defended his reaction and the two ended up bickering through-out the rest of their lunch.

Sokka's dad sat down, shaking his head at his son.

Zuko laughed to himself and grabbed an empty bowl. He had to admit to himself that he liked this scene better than the happy, all-too-perfect one. Everyone here, except himself and Toph it seemed, was way too happy all the damn time. The prince smiled and went to serve himself some stew and strode off after Toph. He paused as he passed Katara and Aang.

The Waterbender glared up at him. "What do **you** want?" she spat. Zuko's eyes passed over Katara's face to Aang's.

"You," he replied, pointing his spoon at the Airbender, "You'd better be in that field after lunch for more Firebending practice. And don't you dare think you'll slip away from me so easily this time."

Aang gulped as Zuko walked off.

The rest of the day ended up passing by like most. By the time lunch was over, Suki had forgiven Sokka, Katara cleaned up the eating area, and Sokka talked over battle plans with his father. Teo, the Duke and Haru sat around coming up with ideas for inventions and different home-made bombs.

Toph tagged along with Zuko and Aang. The Avatar spent the rest of the daylight working on Firebending as punishment for skipping out early.

The sky grew darker as the sun set on the horizon. The clouds were vibrant shades of pink and purple and the sky a dark indigo. A few stars were shining through the darkness as Aang finished up his last set of Firebending katas. The moon was full and as the sky got darker, the moon grew brighter. Zuko stood a ways away with his arms crossed. "Good job, Aang," he complimented, "You're really getting good."

Aang smiled. "Thanks, Sifu Zuko!"

"You're still not good enough to beat my dad though," he added, frowning. Toph, who was watching from the edge of the field burst into laughter. Aang's shoulders slumped over.

"Yeah, thanks," the Avatar murmured.

Zuko crossed the field and placed a reassuring hand on Aang's shoulder. "Ignore Toph. You know how she is. Anyway, you'll get there," he encouraged, "You really are picking up on this a lot faster than most." Aang nodded grudgingly.

The Fire-nation prince stepped back and bowed to him. "Practice over," he replied. Aang returned the bow, smiling.

The Firebender glanced over to Toph. "C'mon Toph!" he called out. Toph ran towards them, stopping in the middle of the two male benders.

"Firebending is a really strong element," Toph complimented, "I mean, not as strong as Earthbending, of course..." Zuko rolled his eyes as Toph laughed. "Maybe I'll try to incorporate some of those forms into Earthbending. See how it works out," she added. Aang smirked and glanced at his Earthbending friend.

"I thought there was only one way to approach a rock—that there weren't any other angles," he quoted. Toph socked him and laughed. As they approached the campsite, their friends had formed a small circle around a small fire. Sokka's face grew red as Toph approached. He grabbed onto Suki and dove into a deep conversation.

Zuko scanned the circle and noticed one person missing.

Aang must've noticed too. He walked over and sat beside Katara who was sipping a drink. "Hey Katara... Where's your dad?" he asked. Katara slowly led her eyes to Aang.

"You know what? I don't know. I think he went to bed," Katara mumbled. Aang eyed her as Zuko sat on the other side of the Avatar.

"Bed? But—it's dusk," Toph replied, plopping down on the other side of Katara.

"I know, I know. He **is** kinda old though," she replied bluntly, "I mean, Gran-gran gets to bed before the sun's down." Sokka hollered a sound of agreement. Katara held her drink up to her brother and brought it to her lips, guzzling down the remains. Aang and Zuko looked to each other. "Yep. Today was a **loong** day..." Katara whispered. Toph laughed, thinking about Sokka.

"Tell me about it," she agreed. Katara snapped her head toward Toph.

"Toph! You're here!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around the Earthbender, embracing her. The Waterbender leaned back and whispered loudly, "I can't believe you kissed my brother! I had no idea you liked him!" Toph's face went blank and her cheeks flushed.

Everyone in the intimate circle heard Katara's not-so-quiet whisper. Toph could feel Sokka's heartbeat, and even though he wasn't looking at her, his heart was racing, just like hers.

Zuko laughed. Katara jumped and turned towards Zuko.

"When did you get here?" Katara asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Zuko eyed her.

"I uh, got here when they did..." he muttered. Katara smiled widely at the prince.

"Good," she replied, smiling. Zuko's face grew warm and he looked away into the fire.

"Katara? What's wrong with you? You're acting weird," Aang noted.

"What? Really? No, I'm fine. I feel great," she replied, "Actually..." The Waterbender reached over and dipped two wooden cups into a large bowl full of a dark red liquid. She turned and held the two cups out to Aang and Toph.

"Here, Sokka made juice," she offered, smiling, "It's so good." Aang took the glass slowly, eyeing her.

"Sokka juice!" Sokka exclaimed from across the circle. Suki laughed loudly at her boyfriend and cuddled closer to him.

The Airbender laughed and shrugged. "Well, that was nice of him," Aang replied and took a small sip. Aang's eyes widened and he pulled the cup away from his lips. "Oh wow. It really **is** good," he said loudly. Toph grinned and took a swig herself.

Katara nodded as she dipped her another cup into the liquid. She leaned over the Avatar, holding the cup out to Zuko.

"Here," Katara offered, "You'll like it." Her eyes twinkled as the fire danced in the center of the circle and sparkled in her eyes.

Zuko took the glass in his hand, watching Toph, Katara, and Aang clack their wooden cups together and drink to an unspoken toast.

The prince looked down at the dark liquid in his cup. It smelled good. But something was very wrong here. Katara got him a glass and she _never_ serves anything to him.

"Um, Katara—" Zuko started. She pulled her cup down from her mouth and looked past Aang to Zuko.

"Yeah?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling at him.

Zuko cleared his throat, trying to shake the warm sensation rippling through his body as she gazed at him that way.

Aang guzzled away at his drink and smacked his lips once he finished. Zuko frowned at the Avatar and leaned toward Katara. "Where did Sokka get the berries for this juice?" he asked quietly. Katara shrugged and clanked her cup against the Firebender's.

"Who cares? You're always so serious, Zuko," Katara teased. Zuko froze as the Waterbender smiled brilliantly at him. "Ease up. Sokka knows his berries. He follows Momo and whatever berries he eats, Sokka picks. It's actually pretty smart of him," she explained as she brought the cup up to her lips. Zuko lifted one of his eyebrows at her and set his cup on the ground, nudging it away from him. He looked around the circle again. Sokka was gone, the Duke was rolling around on the dirt, and Haru and Suki were up dancing terribly to no music.

"Yeah... I think I'll just have tea," he mumbled as he stood up. He sighed and shook his head as he walked to his tent to get his kettle. He dug through his things, having a hard time finding it.

Finally, he found his kettle in the bottom of his bag. He pulled out a box and looked through the different kinds of teas he had, when Suki stumbled through the door of his tent and crashed into the Firebender.

Zuko stumbled, dropping his kettle and box of teas. The Kyoshi warrior caught her balance as she leaned against the Firebender. "O-Oh! Sorry Suki," Zuko stammered, helping steady her. Suki nodded and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"It's okay," she whispered, leaning against him, "I forgive you." Zuko crinkled his nose in confusion.

"Well, uh, yeah. 'Cause actually, you sorta crashed into me—in my tent," Zuko added uncomfortably as she gazed up at him with smoldering eyes. There was no denying it, even if he'd never noticed before, Suki was a pretty girl.

She was _Sokka's_ pretty girl.

Zuko cleared his throat and pulled away from her. "Well, you're obviously in the wrong tent..." he started as he pushed her towards the door, "So, I'll just show you the way out..."

"W-Wait. Don't push me away..." she begged, holding onto him tighter, "Don't leave me—Sokka..." Zuko tensed up. "I'll do anything you want.. Just.. don't..." she breathed. His face burned up.

"Uhh—I'm not Sokka," Zuko stammered. She stared up at him as though she hadn't heard a word he said. He backed away from the look in her eye. "Whoa, Suki—I'm **not** Sokka," he insisted. She clung onto him, smiling mischievously. His voice broke as she ran her hands down his body, "Hey! Stop!" The Firebender grabbed hold of her hands, breathing heavy. "Suki—One more time. I. am. not. Sokka," he stated slowly as she giggled under his grip. He let go of her arms. "Okay?"

She jumped onto him and pulled at the buttons of his shirt. "Sokka, why are you being so shy?" she teased. Zuko frantically grabbed at her hands that were moving quickly and going dangerously low.

"Suki, stop it!" he demanded. She giggled as he shook her. "Suki, stop laughing. This is serious. Did you have some juice?" he asked, panting.

Suki smiled brightly up at the prince. "Of course I had some of your juice, darling," she cooed. She got up onto her tip-toes, her lips puckered. Zuko froze.

He took his hands off the Kyoshi warrior and ran for it. He stopped in the clearing where they were all sitting before. A huge bonfire was blazing where the small one once was, and now everyone was up singing, dancing and laughing. Aang spun around in circles with Katara as they both sang incomprehensible lyrics to some incomprehensible song. Haru was mumbling jokes to the Duke and Teo who burst into laughter before he'd even delivered the punch line. Toph and Sokka were awfully close as they sat beside the fire talking. The Firebender frowned and began ducking in and out of each tent, looking for Hakoda. The Firebender was sure they'd stop acting so foolish once their father was around. He finally found Hakoda's tent and went inside.

The Firebender leaned down and shook the Water-tribe man. "Hakoda! Everyone is having hallucinations and acting stupid because of your idiot son! **Hakoda**! Wake up! He made some juice out of—" Zuko bellowed as he shook him.

Hakoda rolled over, peeking through his eyes a little. His eyes widened as he saw Zuko and smiled broadly. "Sokka juice!" he shouted suddenly. Zuko jumped back as Hakoda closed his eyes and rolled over, instantly falling back into his deep sleep. Zuko clenched his fist as Hakoda snored. He wanted to punch him. Instead he yelled at the old man, shaking him furiously.

"ARGH! You idiots! You can't just go around eating any old berries just 'cause **Momo** eats them!" he yelled. Hakoda didn't budge. "Ugh!" he grunted as he let go of Katara and Sokka's father. The prince sat there for a moment, trying to think of what to do, when he heard everyone start yelling outside. He was on his feet instantly and running towards the bonfire. His stomach churned as he got closer. He could make out what they were yelling now.

"Kata~~ra~~~~! Kata~~~raaaa~~~!"

The Firebender's chest tightened as he scanned the area. No Waterbending brat in sight. He looked to the person closest to him. "What happened? Where's Katara?" Zuko asked angrily. Haru shrugged. The Firebender sighed and looked around the circle. Suki had emerged from Zuko's tent and was now dancing around with Aang.

"We've all been yelling her name 'cause... Well, she stopped dancing and..." Haru didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he broke into song. Zuko growled, his body starting to shake with every bad note the mustached teen hit. He was starting to get pissed. He saw Aang twirl by and the prince reached out , pulling the Airbender over to him.

"Aang! Where's Katara?" Zuko yelled into the Avatar's face. Aang's eyes dropped to the floor.

"She ran away..." he muttered sadly. Zuko stared unbelieving into his face. "She did! She said shesaw something and ran into theforest to get it," Aang explained pointing to the forest and slurring his words, "She saidshe'd be rightback though.."

Zuko threw his hands up and Aang immediately spun away. "Idiots!" he growled, heading out to the forest.

"I can't believe this," the Firebender mumbled angrily, stepping carefully through the dark forest, "Absolutely ridiculous." He glanced around as he walked farther and farther. "Katara!" he called out as he walked. He kept walking until he could barely see because it was so dark. And eventually, as hard as he listened, the prince could no longer hear the laughter and singing of his drunken, idiot friends. The only thing he could hear was the crunch of foliage under his feet and his own breathing.

"Katara!" he called out again. The Fire-nation prince heard a soft rustling and froze. He lit a small flame in the palm of his hand. "Katara?" he peered into the darkness.

"I lost it..." Katara whispered. He walked toward her voice, his flame outstretched in front of him.

"Katara?" Zuko asked as he quickened his pace.

It was really dark out here and her voice sounded soft and sad. His heart skipped a beat. That never seemed to be a good combination for the Fire-nation prince.

He swallowed.

"W-What'd you lose?" he choked out, trying to get her to keep talking so he could follow her voice.

"I lost my dragonfly.." she mumbled. Then she added almost absent-mindedly, "It was so pretty.. It was glowing."

Then Zuko found her. She was sitting on the forest floor, between a couple bushes, twirling a leaf between her fingers.

"Katara..." he breathed, feeling relieved. He pressed his lips together and frowned. "What are you doing out here?" he scolded, "You shouldn't have left camp."

"But! There was a dragonfly!" Katara insisted. Zuko shook his head.

"There aren't any dragonflies out here," he replied and reached down to her. "Come on, let's go."

"No, no, I saw one," she insisted as she nodded, "It flew by really fast in the sky." She drew a line across the sky with her finger. The Firebender sighed as she stared up at nothingness. He leaned down and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto her feet. She wobbled as she stood and he kept a hold on her arm, making sure she wouldn't fall.

"I swear, I saw **something**..." she whispered to him. His heart started pumping faster as he looked down at her sad, pouting, and extremely vulnerable face. He coughed and started tugging her back the way he came.

"It was probably just a shooting star," he suggested, smiling to her a little. "Now come on. I'll take you back to the camp. You're really far into the forest."

Katara dug her heels into the ground and hung her head as she swayed side to side. "No," she muttered. Zuko glanced back at her, her hair dangling in front of her face. She looked up at him. "I'm not going back," she said rebelliously.

The Firebender frowned. "Why not?" he asked. She didn't answer. He looked away and smiled as he thought of the question to get her feet moving. "Do you want to stay out here with me?" Zuko asked.

Katara shook her head.

He nodded, taking hold of her arm again. "Then let's get back. 'Cause I'm not going back unless you come with me," he replied.

Katara yanked her arm away and shook her head. "I won't go," she said stubbornly. She lifted her blue eyes to his and he could see she was hesitating. "Not until..."

Zuko's throat swelled up as he thought of what she might want from him. He shook his head furiously as his thoughts became more and more impure. He looked away from her. "Not until what?" he muttered slowly.

"Not until... you tell me something," she finished.

Zuko exhaled.

So that was all—she wanted to talk. He felt a little relieved and disappointed at the same time. The prince shrugged. "Okay, go ahead," Zuko offered.

Katara straightened up and peered into Zuko's face, her eyes serious. "I want to know," she said flatly.

The Firebender stared at her, waiting for more. It took a minute for the Waterbender to realize that she needed to say more. She lowered her eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Oh. Um, I want to know... what Toph said to make you laugh. On Appa," she kept her eyes away from the Fire-nation prince, fidgeting with her fingers. Zuko thought about what the Earthbender said and snorted, reaching a hand up to cover his mouth. Katara shot a glare up at him and he realized that was her serious question. He stopped himself from laughing, but he couldn't help his grin as he leaned over her.

"Why?" Zuko questioned. Katara shrugged a little, looking away from the Firebender. Zuko continued, "Why didn't you just ask Toph?"

Katara grimaced, her eyes angry. "I did. She justlaughed at me andwouldn't tell me," she slurred, crossing her arms. Zuko snickered to himself. "I mean, Idon't really care what youtwo said anyway..." she lied terribly, "I mean, it was probably something stupidthat wasn't even that funny."

Zuko shook his head, smiling. She was actually right. It was funny, but it wasn't hilarious or anything. The Fire-nation prince figured he'd take advantage of her drunk-like state and dance around the question. Unlike the others, she acted... cute this way. He blushed as he thought that to himself.

Katara pushed lightly against him and stumbled back as he didn't budge.

"Well?" she shouted.

"Why I should tell you? You just said you didn't really care," Zuko shrugged. "I don't wanna tell someone who won't appreciate the joke." Katara whirled around and got in his face.

"Just tell me! It's pissingme off that you guys're holding this over me! Over everyone!" she demanded.

"'Over everyone', huh? To be honest, you're the only one who's asked what that was about," Zuko laughed, "I mean, really, like you said—who cares what Toph said? It wasn't like it was about you. And it happened a week ago."

Katara stomped her foot again, glaring into his face. "Tellme!" she said all in one word, trying to sound threatening, "It's not fair! You **have** to tellme!"

Zuko pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing at Katara's demanding, obviously jealous, tone. "Why do I **have** to tell you? Why do you want to know so bad?" he teased.

Katara glared up at him, her body swaying a little. "Because!" Zuko stared down at her, amused. The anger faded from her blue eyes as the Waterbender dropped her eyes to the floor. "Because..." she replied softly.

Zuko's amused face fell and he cleared his throat as he looked down at Katara, who was now standing close to him.

"I mean... Somehow, you and Toph sat beside each other for a few minutes and managed to become good friends... While you and I..." Her voice trailed away, her eyes sad.

Zuko felt his face grow hot.

The prince stepped toward her. "Y—You and I can be friends," he replied shakily, "I want to be your friend, Katara."

Katara lifted her eyes to him, unconvinced. "Zuko—if we could'vebeen friends bynow, we would've been," she noted, slurring a few of her words. Her body stumbled backwards and Zuko grabbed onto her to stop her from falling. Katara sighed as he clutched onto her. Her eyes dropped from his face and she stared out into the darkness of the forest. "...I could never make you laugh like that," she said flatly, pouting a little.

Zuko pressed his lips together, frowning slightly. "I don't know. You're pretty funny," he muttered, his lips pulling up into a smile. Katara shot a glare up at him, not appreciating his sarcasm. Zuko chuckled softly at the blatant look on her face. "Okay, so maybe you're not funny.. But..." his words drifted away from him and drew in a breath, "You definitely make me angrier than anyone else."

Katara scoffed and tugged herself away from his grasp. "Wow. Yeah, that's great," she muttered as she rolled her eyes. She tripped over her feet as she attempted to walk away.

Zuko stepped forward, grabbing onto her again as she stumbled. "Wait, wait—maybe angry's the wrong word," he added hastily, "I meant—"

"Can we sit down?" Katara interrupted. Zuko blinked, trying to focus on her sudden question. She grasped at her head as the world started to spin.

"S-Sure," he finally answered. The prince helped her sit down against a tree and he plopped down beside her. Katara leaned her head back against the tree with her eyes closed.

"Thanks," she breathed as the spinning, dizzy world slowed, "...Thanks, Zuko.." She partially opened her eyes and smiled. "You've always been nicer to me than I deserved."

Zuko stared at the Waterbender, his heart pounding. The moon was full that night and extremely bright—so bright that even the dense forest wasn't as dark as it should've been. Or maybe the full moon wasn't responsible for it at all—maybe the forest just didn't seem as dark because he was there with _her_.

He sighed at his own thoughts. After the moment of silence swept between them, Zuko cleared his throat. "Well, like I was saying, angry's the wrong word... Maybe frustrated is better."

The Waterbender's blue eyes popped open and she sat up to look at him. "How isthat a better word?" she demanded, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well—" the prince started.

Katara let out a loud sigh. "I don't want to makeyou angry or frustrate you—those are both horrible feelings tofeel," she whined.

"Well, I don't know..." the Firebender started again, a smile breaking across his face with her whining.

Katara leaned her head back against the tree, letting out another exasperated sound. "Just—nevermind. Stop talking. You're making **me** angry now," Katara demanded. The smile fell from Zuko's face.

The Firebender felt his nostrils flare as his blood boiled under his skin. She wouldn't even let him explain—not that he was certain he'd explain it right anyway. He glared at her as she stared up at the dense branches that cloaked the sky from view. She breathed evenly, her lips slightly parted and her chest expanding slightly with every breath she took. He watched her for a moment, then quickly realized he was staring at her chest and averted his eyes. A lump started to form in his throat with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He shook his head at himself.

"**Frustrated** is a better word because..." he started. He waited for her to stop him, but she kept quiet—for once.

He cleared his throat. "Because... Well, when it comes to you, I feel a bunch of different things, all the time. Like, how sometimes I can't stand the sound of your voice—and sometimes... it's the only thing I want to hear," he hesitated, waiting for a reaction. She sat motionless beside him. He coughed, trying to ease the tension in his chest. "A-And well, there are a lot of times when I'm **furious** with you—and when I try to confront you or yell at you sometimes, I can't. Because the moment I look at you, my anger disappears and I'm okay. Actually, I'm better than okay," he swallowed, attempting to clear his throat of the lump that was swelling up.

"I'm... happy. I'm happy whenever I see you. And the frustrating part is... that I can't help myself. I've tried to stop myself from reacting like that to you, but I can't. I've tried to stop feeling that way when I see you, to just stay angry at you or avoid you, but it's impossible," he explained quickly in a low voice. He drew in a shaky, unsure breath. "So um, I'm sure you can see how frustrating that is," he added slowly.

His cheeks were burning and his heart was thudding loudly inside him. Katara was still sitting beside him, unusually quiet. He peeked over at her, hoping to be able to read her expression.

She was asleep.

The prince dropped his head and exhaled the breath he'd been holding in his lungs. Feeling both angry and relieved, he half-smiled to himself as he shook his head. "See, this is exactly what I mean," he muttered to himself. The prince lifted his eyes to the Waterbender's sleeping face. "You're completely frustrating." Katara stirred a little in her sleep as he watched goose bumps prickle their way up her exposed skin. She began to shiver lightly, her eyebrows furrowing.

Zuko sighed.

He removed his long sleeved shirt and laid it over her. He wished he could start a fire, but the small area they were in had too many bushes and trees around—he was afraid of nature taking over his fire and it getting out of his control. The prince leaned against the tree, looking around at the darkness that surrounded them. Zuko felt something cold brush against his arm and jumped. He looked over to see that it was Katara's cold cheek that had come in contact with his arm. His breath caught in his throat. She was still shivering as she snuggled closer and closer to him. Zuko shuddered as he felt the goose bumps prickling his skin where ever her soft skin touched him. His body tensed up as she wrapped her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder.

The prince clenched and unclenched his hands into fists in his lap, trying to keep his breathing steady.

She nuzzled her cheek against his warm skin. Zuko's heart boomed inside his body. Her cheeks flushed a light pink and her hair smelled sweet. The Waterbender's arm that was wrapped around his slowly slid to the ground as she moved her body closer to his. He stared down at her limp hand as his heart pounded inside his body.

He hesitated.

Taking another glance at her face, he carefully reached over, resting his hand on top of hers. The Waterbender smiled and for a moment he thought she was awake, so he quickly pulled his hand away. She mumbled some slurred words and the smile faded from her face—she was still asleep. Katara moved her face and her lips brushed against Zuko's bare arm, goose bumps following close behind. Her face leaned up towards his now and he could feel her warm breath on his neck. Zuko held his breath as every nerve in his body tingled.

She was going to kill him if she found out, but at this moment, he didn't care.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers lightly.


	12. Chapter 12

_3-12-2009: Alright! Chapter 12 is officially heah... It's a lot shorter than my previous chapter and I kinda rushed it, so be gentle. xD Hahahaha... Anyway, other than that, I don't have much to say about it._

_Hope you all enjoy this chapter. :D Peace._

_Aiko_

* * *

Katara sat up in her sleeping bag, raining thundering against the outside of her tent. She grasped at her throbbing head, her eyes squeezing shut from the pain.

"Ugh," she grumbled to herself as she thought about each cup of juice she downed last night, "I'm going to **kill** Sokka."

Zuko's face flashed in her mind and her eyes flew open.

_"That's right—I was with Zuko last night,"_ she thought to herself as she glanced around her tent, _"How did I end up here?"_

She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing the prince's red, long-sleeved tunic. Her breath caught in her throat and her whole body suddenly felt hot. Her head started swirling with a few vague recollections of the previous night.

_"You and I can be friends. I want to be your friend, Katara."_

Katara's heart stopped in her chest.

"Knock knock, sugar queen," Toph called through the tent door. The Waterbender's heart jump started and her eyes snapped up to the door as Toph let herself in.

"W-What happened last night?!" Katara exclaimed, her face flushed. Toph just chuckled.

"You ran off into the forest chasing some bug and Zuko went looking for you. He came back like, an hour or so later carrying you. You were out," Toph explained with a chuckle, "Yeah, it was a pretty embarrassing moment for you."

Katara remembered being in the forest. She remembered Zuko finding her. She remembered yelling at him about Toph's joke, him being an annoying jerk about it at first—and finally, Zuko's all-to-familiar sincere look and his words, _"We can be friends. I want to be your friend, Katara."_ Her breath caught in her throat. She tried and tried to think back to what happened after that, to remember what she said, but it was all fuzzy.

"Why am I wearing his shirt?" Katara asked suddenly, her face flushed.

Toph turned towards her. "Well, probably because you were cold," she shrugged as she answered, "And he's a prince. What do you think?"

Katara clenched at the crimson fabric that covered her and quickly removed it.

She stared down at the shirt. This wasn't happening. Zuko was the only one who cared enough to come find her?

Tears pierced at her eyes as she thought of this. "Where was Aang? Why didn't **he** come after me?" Katara demanded, forcing back her tears. Toph plopped down beside her.

"Well, to be honest, he was dancing. He danced all night. But you can't really blame him—his judgement about things was pretty screwed up," the Earthbender replied. She lowered her eyes to the ground and sighed, "Everyone's was."

Katara shuddered as a loud clash of thunder shook the tent. "What do you mean by that?" Katara asked, rubbing her arms to try and warm them. She clenched the red shirt in her hands. As another cold shiver ran down her spine, she slid her arms back into the sleeves. She crossed her arms over her chest, wrapping the prince's tunic around her tighter.

Toph swallowed and lowered her eyes to the ground. "...nothing," Toph whispered. Katara stared at the Earthbender. She scooted closer to her.

"Toph?"

Toph smiled broadly to the Waterbender. "Really, I didn't mean anything by it," she assured. Katara nodded slowly.

"Alright..." Katara murmered, huddling warmly in the shirt. She cringed as she thought of where the warm shirt came from. "Hey, do you know where Zuko is?"

Toph hesitated as her feet searched for Zuko.

"He's training," Toph answered.

"With Aang?"

Toph shook her head. "No—he's alone. Why?" the Earthbender questioned. Katara stood from the floor.

"I'm going to go ask him what happened last night," Katara answered as she left the tent and headed out into the pouring rain.

Katara's shoes sloshed around in the puddles as the rain beat down over her. The rain immediately soaked through her clothes as she trudged through the thick mud. She glanced around as she walked through the empty clearing. Everyone was still inside their tents, probably trying to stay dry—or maybe it was still early in the morning. The Waterbender looked up at the dark gray sky, rain drops pounding onto her cheeks. There was no telling what time it was. She continued through the field, the tall grass hanging down from the weight of the rain that poured down relentlessly.

Zuko was standing in the middle of the grassy plain, practicing an advanced Firebending kata. With every punch he threw, a small burst of flame emerged from his knuckles. He moved gracefully and skillfully, bringing his foot around in a swift kicking motion, fire flowing out of his toes. Fire surrounded the prince as the rain poured down and Katara watched in amazement. Her heart started to flutter lightly in her chest and she quietly cleared her throat, attempting to calm herself. The prince lept into the air, combining a scissor kick and jabbing motion, flames lighting up the sky. He landed and spun gracefully, bringing his flames around with a back-handed fist.

Suddenly, the bright fire was gone and Zuko stood frozen in the center of the field, his eyes wide and locked on Katara.

They stared at each other, thunder booming as loudly as their hearts—the rain pouring out of the sky and beating heavily against the slushy ground.

"H-Hey," Zuko called out.

Katara swallowed. "Hey," she greeted.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked. Katara averted her eyes away from the Firebender.

"Oh, n-no reason. Just taking a walk," she muttered hesistantly.

Zuko's eyes drifted down to her clothes and back up to her face. "You're soaked. You should go get inside somewhere and stay warm," he said.

Katara clung to his shirt that she was wearing and suddenly felt embarrassed. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of the tunic and wadded it up into a ball. She glanced over at the prince and tossed him the heavy, rain-soaked shirt. "Water doesn't bother me," she replied with a slight smirk. Zuko caught the bundled up shirt easily, his body tensing up with her friendly tone. Katara felt the rain trickling down her arms and attempted to ignore how cold she felt.

A wave of silence passed between the teenagers.

"Um, you're really good," Katara complimented. She drew in a deep breath and grinned at him. "I'm surprised that you could never beat me."

Zuko stood unmoving in the field. What's that mean? Was she complimenting him? Teasing him? Or was she just insulting him? The prince glanced down at his rain-soaked shirt.

"Yeah well, I held back, of course," Zuko replied coolly with a shrug. Katara flinched at his nonchalant tone and felt her anger start to bubble up.

"Hah. Right," Katara scoffed, "You say that now."

"You know, I think I remember **winning** the fight against you back in the Northern Watertribe," Zuko started. Katara shot a glare at him. He was looking up at the rain falling from the sky. "I don't blame you for not remembering that though," he added smugly.

Katara stomped up to him, fuming. "Yeah, actually, I remember that fight pretty clearly. You knocked me down and kidnapped Aang, and then I went after you—and when I found you—I beat you unconscious!" Zuko furrowed his brow as she stood before him. He clenched his teeth as she continued smugly, "So like I said, you **haven't** beaten me. And you never will."

"I can and **would**. Fortunately for you though, I'm on your side now," Zuko rebuttled, shrugging a little, "So you won't ever have to be humilated by how badly I could beat you."

Katara growled as she stepped into him, "Unless I challenge you to an Agni-kai!"

The Firebender let out a short burst of laughter.

"No thanks," he snickered. Katara glared up at him.

"Why not? Oh, I know why. 'Cause you **know** I'd beat you unconscious again!" Katara challenged. Zuko chuckled darkly as he shook his head.

"No, because I'm Aang's only chance at a Firebending teacher. I'm part of the group now and I'd like to keep it that way," he snickered. He opened his yellow eyes and peered down at her. "Besides, I don't need you to have **another** reason to hate me." Katara leaned away from the prince, her features softened. She turned her eyes away from him. The Fire-nation prince watched her curiously, his anger fading slightly. He sighed. "Anyway, none of that matters now. Why don't you just tell me what do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"Wow. That's real nice," she grumbled.

The prince's face twisted up into a look of confused frustration.

"**What**? Katara—" he paused, exhaling a frustrated breath as he tried to calm himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

The Firebender opened his eyes and looked down at the Water-tribe girl, exasperated. "Look, since when do you want me to be nice? I didn't mean to sound so blunt, but I just—I honestly don't know what you're doing here. Okay, you were taking a walk. But why are you talking to me? You avoided me for, well, however long, and now you're here and—" He didn't finish his sentence. The Fire-nation prince relaxed his shoulders and stared at her, waiting for an answer.

Katara lowered her eyes to the watery ground. This had somehow become something completely different than what she came here for, like it usually did whenever it concerned Zuko. She wanted to just come up and casually ask him what happened last night, and then move along. But instead here they are, bickering and tense, as usual. Katara reached a hand up and ran it nervously through her wet hair. "Y-You're right. Look, I saw you out here and just wanted to return your shirt," she lied.

Zuko stared at her, trying to read her face. Giving up quickly, he took a few steps back from her. "Okay," he said, "Well, thanks."

The Waterbender nodded once to the prince and spun around, walking briskly back towards the campsite. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears started to sting at her eyes.

_"You and I can be friends. I want to be your friend, Katara."_

Katara stopped walking and turned back to the Firebender, a few tears rolling out of her eyes and down her cheeks, blending in with the raindrops. "Did you mean what you said last night?" she yelled over the rain to him.

Zuko froze.

"What?" he answered shakily, his heart starting to pound in his chest. His mind flew back to the speech he made that he'd thought she had fallen asleep on. Did she hear him explain his feelings afterall? He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to sound as nonchalant as he could. "D-Did I mean what?" he stammered as his heart pounded so hard that his body started to shake.

Katara lowered her eyes. Her throat felt dry. She couldn't make herself repeat what he said. The Waterbender shook her head and half-smiled to the prince. "Uh... N-Nevermind," she called out, "Forget I said anything."

Zuko's anxious face fell, his heart slowing back to its normal pace. She turned swiftly and headed back towards the campsite. He stared after her for a moment. "So frustrating," he sighed to himself. He looked down at the wet shirt and tossed it aside, readying himself for more training.

Katara's feet slowed and she eventually stopped. She spun around again. "What did you just say?" she yelled.

The Firebender turned around with the sound of her voice, his eyes falling on her. "I didn't say anything," he answered. Katara crossed the field and stopped in front of him.

"No, you said something. What'd you say?" she interrogated. Zuko stepped backwards, confused.

"Well, I did, but I was just talking to myself," he told her. She stared up at him with a strange look on her face. Zuko sighed. "Katara, it wasn't anything important. All I said was, 'so frustrating'," he explained.

Katara's blue eyes widened as memories from last night whipped through her head.

_"You definitely make me angrier than anyone else... maybe angry's not the right word. Maybe frustrated's better... See? You're completely frustrating."_

Her body began to tremble as last memory of the night remained in her mind.

Zuko's lips against hers.

"Katara?" the prince lightly touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

The Waterbender flinched as the Firebender's fingertips brushed against her shoulder. She clenched her fists tightly and the rain water froze Zuko's feet to the floor. The Firebender's eyes widened as he looked down at the ice frozen halfway up his legs. His yellow eyes shot back up to Katara just as he felt an angry fist connect hard against his jaw. The thin ice shattered away from his ankles as he fell to the rainy, muddy ground. He brought his hand up to his jaw, rubbing the spot where she punched him. He glared up at the Waterbender.

"What the **hell** is wrong with you, Katara?!" he bellowed.

The Water-tribe girl trembled uncontrollably from rage. "Get up! I challenge you to an Agni-kai!!" she declared loudly. Zuko breathed heavily as he felt the flame of anger burn inside of him. Thunder sounded over their heads and lightning flashed across the sky. He pushed himself up off the ground and stepped up to the Waterbender, rain running down both of their faces.

"**Fine**!!" he bellowed into her face. Katara shoved him away and got into a defensive stance. Zuko was shaking from anger and raised his arm, pointing to the forest. "We'll fight in the forest, far enough away where Toph won't be able to see us fighting and no one will stop us," he said angrily. Katara eased up on her defensive stance.

"Sounds **perfect**," she hissed as she pushed past the prince. Zuko clenched his teeth together, his jaw throbbing in pain.

They strode quickly through the forest, Katara making sure she stayed ahead of Zuko. The rain didn't fall as hard through the dense over-hanging of leaves—it had become more like a mist.

"You're gonna regret this," Zuko warned, clenching his fists as he walked. Katara scoffed and spun around to face him.

"You know what? You've got real nerve, Zuko," Katara spat. Zuko stared down at her unamused. Katara deepened her glare. "Don't act like you don't remember what you did. You took advantage of me last night!" she accused.

His eyes widened. "**What**?! Are you crazy?! I would never—" he paused, shaking his head angrily, "All I did was kiss you!"

Katara glared at him, her eyes wild with fury. "Oh, and how is that okay?! I was practically asleep and you—you—"

"Exactly, I thought you were asleep!" he yelled. Katara shoved him and he stumbled back a little.

"Well I don't know how it is in the Fire-nation, but in everywhere else that's sane, you don't get to kiss anyone just because they're asleep!" she yelled as she pushed him again, "**Jerk**!"

She whirled around and stormed off.

"Oh, so this is why you're challenging me to an Agni-Kai? Over a **kiss**?" Zuko questioned.

"No, it's because you took advantage of the fact that I couldn't defend myself!!" Katara hissed back at him. "So I'll show you what happens when I **can**!"

Zuko's nostrils flared. His blood was boiling as Katara marched off ahead of him. He ran and caught up with her, pushing past her. "You don't even know where you're going," he grumbled.

Katara scowled and immediately ran up next to him, trying to push her way past him. They burst into a impromptu race, pushing back and forth between each other—when eventually the two benders stumbled out into a large clearing. Zuko stopped as Katara shoved herself past him.

"Hmph," she grunted with a smug look on her face.

The Firebender rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's mature," he muttered sarcastically. Katara pretended not to hear him. Rain fell freely on them without the coverage of the trees and near by there was a small stream that probably connected out to the river somewhere. The ground was mostly hard dirt, even with all the rain. A few small patches of dried grass speckled the ground and on the outer edge of the round clearing was an ancient, extremely large willow tree.

Katara realized quickly that this was where they would fight, and spun around to face the Firebender. Her eyes narrowed on the prince as she got into an offensive Waterbending stance.

"Well, here we are," Zuko growled as he squatted into position and felt his fists start to burn.


	13. Chapter 13

_4-19-2009: Okay! So here's chapter 13. :D I hope you enjoy this chapter 'cause I had fun writing it. Bwahaha.3 WHO WILL WIN TEH FIGHT? You shall seeee... Yessum, you shall. xD Okay bye._

_Aiko_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the prince asked solemnly.

The two benders held their stances as their eyes stayed locked on the other's. Neither of them moved while the dark gray clouds lingered above and rain trickled down from the sky.

Katara hesitated to answer—she felt a wave of guilt rush over her as the rest of the previous night had come back to her.

She was sitting with Zuko in the middle of the forest and he was talking about how frustrated she made him. Her head started to spin so she rested her eyes.

_"I'm... happy. I'm happy whenever I see you. And the frustrating part is... that I can't help myself." _

She didn't remember anything after that so she must have really fallen asleep because the next thing she remembered was waking up to the feeling of his lips against hers.

Katara's chest tightened as she played his words over and over in her head. She stared at the Firebender, feeling warm inside. _"I'm happy when I see you."_ She sighed angrily at herself—now that the fight was ready to start, she realized that this did seem to be a little extreme of a reaction. Her heart was pounding as she gulped down her nervous feeling.

The Waterbender realized why she felt angry all the time. She wasn't angry at Zuko or that he'd kissed her—not exactly. She felt her hands starting to shake as she stared at him. Katara let out a ragged breath as she stared into his golden eyes and felt her cheeks burning.

The Waterbender grimaced to herself.

She just couldn't feel this way—not about him. It was absolute nonsense that she cared about the Fire-Nation prince. It went against everything she ever thought and felt before.

She clenched her fists and steadied her shaking core. She didn't want to fight him. But her pride wouldn't allow her to back down now. The Waterbender glared at the Firebender. "More sure than anything," she growled, inspite of her doubt.

"I'm not going to hold back," he warned.

Katara smirked mischeiviously at the prince. "Doesn't matter if you do or not," she muttered, "'Cause I'll beat you either way."

Zuko felt the fire creeping out of his palms. "Okay."

He quickly spun, fire flying from his hands as he bended a blazing wall of fire at the Waterbender. She dodged agilely and as the adrenaline began pumping through her veins, she bended the rain water into a thousand frozen needles.

"It was a bad idea to agree to fight me in a rainstorm," Katara snickered, bringing her arms down, the ice needles flying down with them. Zuko crouched down, flames engulfing his body. The tiny icicles melted in the heat of his flames and he stood upward quickly, sending his flames hurling away from himself and towards Katara. She dove out of the way of his attack and turned to face him.

"Doesn't matter if I did or not. 'Cause I'll beat you either way," Zuko quoted with a smirk. Katara's heart fluttered in her chest and she opened her mouth to retaliate—but the Firebender stepped toward her, bending another wave of fire at the Water-tribe girl.

Katara quickly formed a large, thick sheet of ice from the wet ground to block his attack. She gasped as she realized that he was serious about this fight. Her heart wrenched inside her. All she wanted to do earlier was see him and talk to him. She thought of the prince's red tunic that she woke up in. Katara sighed at herself. He'd been so nice to her and she just wanted to be nice to him, too. She glanced through the transparent ice block that shielded her from Zuko's flames. But now, because the Waterbender can't stop being so stubborn—because she refuses to admit to herself how she feels, they're dueling during a rainstorm in the middle of a forest over something that isn't anything to fight about.

The hazy version of Zuko's kiss ran through her mind again. Her heart thudded hard within her chest as Katara hid behind her protective shield of ice.

She really didn't want to fight him anymore.

The prince blasted another powerful fireball into her shield—shattering it. Katara gasped as the flames disintergrated her frozen wall and licked warmly at her skin. She jumped back from the surprisingly powerful Firebending attack and countered, bending a large wave of water and pulling it into Zuko from behind him.

The prince crashed to the ground as the unseen tidal wave came down on top of him. He quickly shoved himself up off the floor, his hair and clothing dripping wet.

Zuko clenched his jaw and let out an angry growl. She really was serious about fighting him.

"Fine!" Zuko bellowed, punching a fiery fist at his Waterbending opponent. Katara's blue eyes widened as she dodged.

She spun around and moved her arms with her, collecting the surrounding rain water and bending it into a water-globe. The Waterbender shoved it at him, turning it into ice just as it tumbled into his chest.

He stumbled back as the force of the ice boulder knocked the air out of his lungs. Zuko gasped at the air and began trembling as his rage exploded inside of him. He shot a deathly glare at Katara and charged towards her, bright orange flames engulfing his fists. Katara shuffled backwards defensively, bending a water whip to try and keep some distance—but Zuko ignored the liquid whip that lashed relentlessly at him. Katara evaded his fiery strikes as the Firebender pressed forward, closing the distance between them. _"He's so fast,"_ Katara worried in her head as she blocked and backed away. He did a spinning kick in mid-run, catching Katara off balance.

Katara's eyes went wide as she stumbled back—this was bad.

Zuko dove at her, his teeth clenched and his eyes furious. As Katara fell to the ground, she actually felt afraid—she hadn't seen him this angry since they were enemies. As he brought his fiery fist down toward her, Katara rolled out of the way and as he landed, she froze his limbs to the sloshy ground. Katara stood up, panting hard. Zuko immediately broke one of his hands free. She decided to retreat. She turned and sprinted as fast as she could from the Firebender, bending the rain into fog as she ran.

She slowed to a stop once she got a good distance away and spun around, peering into the fog. The Waterbender listened as hard as she could for his footsteps. She could hear a faint sound of footsteps squishing quickly in the mud, so she tip-toed backwards—making sure she kept quiet and that the sound of his footsteps stayed in front of her.

She felt something brush against her arm and she spun around, her guard up.

It just just a long, dangling vine of a willow tree.

She glanced up at the enormous weeping willow. Katara could hear Zuko's footsteps getting closer and closer. Glancing over her shoulder, she pushed her way through the curtain of vines. As the dangling leaves swung closed, Katara noticed that it was surprisingly dry under the cover of the willow. It was also extremely dark.

The Waterbender listened for Zuko's footsteps, but couldn't hear anything. She sighed as her breathing finally return to normal. She glanced around the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust. It felt so peaceful, like she'd stumbled into another world. She bumped into something and quickly using hands to feel around, realized it was just the trunk of the willow. She leaned her forehead on the smooth, mossy bark of the tree and smiled to herself.

"Found you."

Katara gasped and spun around as she saw a bright flame coming at her from the darkness. She dove out of the way of the fire and crashed into something else—Zuko. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes finally adjusted to the dark. He glared down at her. She took a step back to run away again, but he threw an arm up on the other side of her. She jumped as she felt his fist firmly against her stomach.

They panted heavily, staring intensely at each other.

The vines of the weeping willow hung down to the ground, surrounding them and shielding them from the rest of the world. Katara swallowed her breath as she felt his fist start to burn. She closed her eyes, trying to not feel afraid—to regain her confidence and pride. He pressed his fist harder against her stomach. She opened her eyes, glaring up at him.

"Go ahead. Do it," she challenged.

The prince's hair was dripping wet and his damp clothes clung to him as he stared down at Katara. He leaned into her, warming and pressing his fist into her stomach. He listened as her breathing quickened. A smile broke across his lips and he lightly brushed his grinning face against her cheek. Katara flinched a little as she felt the Firebender's warm breath against her ear. "I win," he hissed slowly. He withdrew himself, keeping his eyes on her.

Katara growled as she caught a glimpse of his faint smile and quickly brought up her arm, the dew from the grass flying up with it. Zuko countered swiftly and gripped onto her wrist, pinning her up against the large willow. Katara squeezed her eyes shut and a soft grunt escaped her lips as the water splashed lifelessly to the ground. She scowled at the prince—trapped beneath him once again. His smile was gone. He held her firmly against the trunk of the tree. "We're done, Katara. I won," he growled. Katara felt the inside of her chest pounding as the Firebender's golden eyes pierced into hers.

She pulled against his grasp.

"Stop—we're done," he repeated. A cold shiver ran up her spine as his hand gripped around her wrist tightly. She held her breath as goosebumps prickled their way up the Waterbender's arm. Katara attempted once again to yank her wrist free and break away from the Fire-nation prince—but he yanked her back the other way, holding her where she was.

He was so strong.

Drawing in a frustrated breath, Katara lifted her eyes back to his face that was only a few inches from hers. There was a little color to his usually pale skin and his yellow eyes shone brightly through the strands of his raven-colored hair that hung messily in his eyes. She lowered her eyes to his lips that trembled softly as his jagged breathing escaped from his mouth.

Katara tore her eyes away from his lips and glared up at him, desperately trying to cling to her anger, her pride. The shade provided by the long vines of the willow tree cast a dark shadow over his scar that was becoming more and more attractive everytime she saw it and his hard, fit body was easy to see through the wet clothing that clung to every muscle. The Waterbender felt her anger diminish as her knees started to shake. Her eyes found his and she choked on her breath as the prince's hand that gripped tightly around her wrist grew warmer, and warmer...

Katara leaned forward and pressed her lips against Zuko's.

She felt the Firebender tense up, his lips frozen against hers. She slowly stepped away, bumping her back into the large willow.

Zuko stared down at her. His eyes had a glazed-over look about them—like he wasn't really seeing her. His hand still held onto her wrist, but the warm sensation from before was now burning. Katara bit softly on her bottom lip as she ignored the pain searing through her arm and looked over his face, her heart nervous and her body tense as she waited for his reaction.

Zuko felt the air overwhelming his lungs—it seemed like he couldn't breathe in and out fast enough—if at all. Zuko blinked several times, attempting to wrap his head around what just happened.

His eyes finally focused on Katara's face and he watched as she sucked lightly on her bottom lip. He attempted to swallow down the lump that had formed in his throat, his face a turning deep shade of red as he stared down at her. Realizing how hot his hands had gotten, the Fire-nation prince quickly released the Waterbender's wrist and averted his eyes. Clearing his throat, he glanced back at the Waterbender, finding her eyes staring intensely at him. Zuko's chest tightened and he inched himself toward her. Katara drew in a quick breath and he hesitated. They kept their eyes on eachother, feeling their breath on each other's lips. Their faces flushed wildly, their bodies trembled and their hearts pounded loudly in their chest. Zuko leaned closer, his eyes on hers, unblinking.

Katara closed her eyes.

In one swift movement, the prince had stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers. She leaned deeply into him. Zuko parted her mouth with his as he kissed the Water-tribe girl ferociously—and waited for her to push him away. But instead, Katara wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing one hand up to entwine her fingers in his wet, black hair. Zuko's heart pounded in his chest as Katara pulled his face deeper into hers. The Firebender was completely confused, as he usually was when it came to the Waterbender. They were fighting ten minutes ago—fighting because he kissed her last night. He gasped lightly as Katara sucked softly on his bottom lip. The prince brought his arms down around her waist and gripped her tightly against him. His wet clothes seeped into Katara's as he held onto her and their lips moved desperately across each other.

His head whirling, Zuko reluctantly pulled back a little, opening his eyes. He blinked as the world around them came back into focus. Katara's lips lingered in the air and not finding the Firebender's—she opened her eyes as well. "Wh—What are you doing?" Zuko whispered, out of breath. They stared at each other, breathing hard.

She wasn't sure what she was doing—all she knew was that this felt good. Katara stared at his lips. She wanted to feel them pressed against hers again. She wanted to feel his body pressed against hers. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She lifted her eyes to his face. His eyes looked vulnerable and perplexed. The past version of the prince pushed it's way forward into her mind—Zuko, her enemy. She remembered _hating_ him and now... Katara trembled as the two worlds collided in her mind. She remembered his betrayal and swallowed the lump in her throat as she thought of how angry and hurt she felt. But she also thought of his sincere, kind words and gentle, stolen kisses. Katara gasped as she felt her lungs close up and gazed up at him.

"I—I don't know," she answered in a whisper, her arms tighening around his shoulders.

The prince didn't respond at first.

But he eventually smiled. "Fair enough," he cooed. Katara's heart skipped a beat and she rushed in, pressing her lips to his once again. His body flinched in surprise and he knew he'd never get used to this—Katara kissing _him_. Zuko moved one hand from her waist and wrapped it around her shoulders. The Waterbender's hands clenched the cold, damp fabric that clung to the prince's broad back. As she clung to him with the sweet taste of her lips moving across his, the Firebender could hardly contain himself and his hands began to roam clumsily all over her body. Their lips were intertwined and they both gasped for air, but didn't dare to stop kissing.

Zuko felt his body shaking as Katara's hands found their way up the back of his shirt. Her hands were cold and clammy as they slid over his shoulder blades, but he couldn't imagine a better feeling. Katara let out a soft moan from behind his lips and a wave of blood rushed through Zuko's body—causing the prince to pull away. He didn't get very far—Katara leapt forward, immediately finding his lips. Zuko's face was on fire as he tried to keep a little distance between his body and hers. A muffled noise of disapproval came from Katara's lips as she pulled him up against her.

The Firebender couldn't take it—he broke their kiss again and drew in a deep breath of air. He opened his eyes, his hands clutching onto her curvy hips. Katara gazed up at him, her eyes a little angry. They panted in unison as they stood underneath the willow together. Katara stuck her lip out slightly, pouting as she stared at him. Zuko gulped. He leaned in, hesitating out of habit, and kissed her lightly as his fingertips crept around to the backside of the Katara's hips. The Waterbender returned the soft kiss, sliding her hands up his rib cage. Zuko shuddered and leaned back from Katara to pull his shirt off over his head.

Tossing the shirt aside, the prince looked over her face, making sure he wasn't doing anything odd or unwanted. Katara lowered her eyes to Zuko's smooth, bare chest. Her hands slid slowly up his pale skin and she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Katara," Zuko stated, lacking any words to follow. The Water-tribe girl just smiled as though she knew there was no more to his sentence except her name. The prince stepped forward, backing the Waterbender into the tree and crushed his lips and body against hers.

Zuko's lips made their way to Katara's cheek and led themselves down to her neck. Katara grasped onto him, enjoying the sensation of his extremely warm lips and the way they nibbled at her skin.

_

* * *

_


	14. Chapter 14

_11-03-2009: OKAY... sorry for any subscribers who had to wait this long for me to update. I had a LOT of things going on in my life... And it wasn't until maybe a few weeks ago that I was able to sit down and fine tune this chapter (and finish writing it). I'm not SUPER happy with it... but I needed to stop tinking around and twisting around a few words and just update my story already. I wanted to add more to this chapter, but I realized that I'll do it next chapter so I have a place to start. I mostly just needed to update and the chapter was starting to get a little long and tedious to write.. but I wanted to write it this way soo... anyway, sorry for the long wait.. it won't be NEARLY as long for the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. :D_

_Aiko_

* * *

A few months ago, things were different. A few weeks ago things were different. A few _hours_ ago things were different.

Zuko had experienced many changes in his life recently, but this had topped them all. This was crazy and impossible, but somehow, it happened. And it's changed _everything_.

Crazy as it sounded—impossible as it was—beside the prince lay the sleeping Waterbender a few inches away, huddled up underneath his deep red shirt. The Firebender's golden eyes wandered down Katara's body and fell upon her bare legs that dangled out of the bottom of his tunic. He felt his face grow hot. He stared intensely at the beautiful Water-tribe girl and although he knew what happened and was conscious of it while it happened, he still couldn't believe it.

Zuko drew in a deep, jagged breath and felt the cool damp air swirl down into his lungs. He turned his head, pressing his warm cheek against the wet forest floor. The rain had stopped and the clouds cleared away. The forest was quiet. He exhaled a content sigh as the grass cooled his skin.

It was alright. He was dreaming. That was the only semi-logical reason of why this would happen.

When the Firebender opened his eyes, Katara still laid beside him—her skin a rich, golden brown, and her long, thick eyelashes kissing the tops of her cheeks. The sunshine peeking through the thick canopy of the willow's dangling tendrils shone a few bright freckles onto her lightly flushed face. The Waterbender's dark hair laid wildly all around her long, elegant shoulders and neck. The prince drew in a quick breath. She really was breath-taking. He swallowed hard as the scene of the two of them quickly played through his head again.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably as his eyes drifted downward. Zuko shot upward into a sitting position, surprised to see that he was completely naked. The prince frantically covered himself up with one hand and reached around for his trousers with the other. His heart pounded inside his chest as he felt his hand fall on a crumpled pile of cloth. Quickly grabbing his pants, Zuko jumped up and slid his bare legs into the leg holes. He felt a lot more comfortable with the red fabric covering his naked parts. Catching his breath, the prince peeked back at the Waterbender. She breathed evenly, nuzzling her cheek against the forest floor. The red shirt shifted slightly revealing a little more of her naked shoulder. Zuko gulped as the panic bubbled up, competing fiercly with the tingling sensation running through his body.

Zuko felt himself start to gasp for breath again as his face grew hot. _"Katara and I..." _the prince recollected again inside of his head. He fumbled with the string of his pants, temporarily forgetting how to tie them.

The most confusing part of all this was that, this time, Zuko didn't even make the first move. Katara kissed _him_ this time. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. Her fingers dug passionately into his back as the prince reciprocated and lifted her from the ground.

A gigantic knot formed in his stomach as his face burned even hotter. The Fire-nation prince's mind ran wild with the images of Katara. He could vividly picture her arching her back when his fingers touched her body. The feeling of her soft, bare skin against his lingered on his. The softness of her lips kissing him all over made him want to explode. The sound of her voice sensually whispering his name rang over and over in his ears. As he stood there next to her, his legs started to tremble like they did when he was on top of her, their lips wrapped lustfully around eachother's...

Zuko coughed and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. _"_No way, no way, no way. Katara **hates** me, and never, I mean... I would never really... She'd never let me... This is a dream—this didn't really happen. I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming," Zuko whispered to himself as he shook his head. He straightened up. "...I have to be."

That's right, he _had_ to be dreaming. He'd wake up in his tent any moment now. Convinced once again, he slowly opened his eyes.

Katara still lay there at his feet—her pouty lips tugging up into a slight smile.

Zuko felt light headed as he dropped back down onto the grassy floor beside her, feeling his panic return. It really wasn't a dream. This was real.

And even though it was strange that it really happened, it was even stranger to know that the prince felt relieved that it did. He couldn't help it. The way he felt right then was incredibly frusterating. It was irksome to know that how he felt made no sense. That the way he felt drawn to Katara made no sense. The way he couldn't resist her was confusing and irritating.

But, remembering that she kissed him first this time, realizing that she might feel the same way... Zuko's head spun. He'd never felt this happy, nauseated, and overwhelmed in his whole life.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Katara sleep and more questions crashed into his already crowded thoughts. How could she be asleep? What time was it? How long had they been out here? What were they going to do? Were they together now? Did he _want_ to be together with Katara? Did she want to be with him? What was going to happen?

He glanced around, seeing nothing but vines as he sat under the willow beside Katara. A warm breeze blew through him. Turning his attention back to the Waterbender, Zuko wondered if he should wake her up. He was actually dreading facing what happened and he knew that he didn't have an answer for any of the questions he'd just asked himself. What if she woke up and asked him any of those questions? He didn't have any answers. So, the prince decided that he shouldn't wake her just yet. The Firebender wanted to get a good grasp on what his reaction was to what happened between them before he could think about what her reaction would be.

Zuko's heart beat hard inside his chest as his mind overflowed with images, thoughts, and questions.

The truth was, that as much as he tried to deny it, Zuko cared about Katara. He liked her ironically fiery, feisty attitude. He liked how caring she was, even if it was never directed toward him. He liked when she would show her vulnerable side. He liked the way her cheeks flush and her eyes widen when she's surprised. He liked when she'd puff up her chest when she was feeling defensive. He liked when she'd pout and stamp her foot. He liked how graceful she was with her fighting style. He liked her soft hands and how whatever she was eating would always end up on her face somewhere. He liked her spirit, her voice, her smile—he realized that he liked just about everything about Katara.

But could he _be_ with Katara? They were hardly friends, even now. Which only made the idea of them being together like this even weirder. Not to mention the fact that a few months ago, they were _enemies_ and Zuko didn't look at her as anything other than a pesky, loud-mouthed Waterbender.

It was true that Zuko had always found her attractive—anyone would. But she was a young, Water-tribe peasant. The Fire-nation prince thought little about her and mostly about his main goal—which was to capture the Avatar to regain his honor.

The last thought froze in his mind as he felt guilt start to bubble up inside him.

_Aang._

The Firebender felt his insides painfully twisting around as he thought about his new friend and how he'd already betrayed him.

Katara and Aang weren't really together, but Zuko knew—_everyone_ knew—that the Avatar was very much in love with Katara. The Firebender had kissed the Waterbender a couple times and although he didn't want Aang to find out about it—Zuko didn't feel guilty like he did right now. This was a lot more serious than a stolen kiss first of all, and the idea that Katara might feel the same meant that Aang's love would go unreciprocated. Zuko didn't want to be responsible for that. He didn't want Aang to feel hurt because of him.

The prince choked on his breath and felt a little nauseated. His mind ran wild as his guilt started to overrun him. His thoughts frantically flew from Aang to Mai—the prince and her were technically broken up, but with what happened at the boiling rock, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Mai obviously still cared about him, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't care about Mai. His mind drifted to the idea of Sokka finding out about them... he felt like he'd betrayed him in a way too. Zuko wasn't very knowledgable about friendships or relationships in general, but being with a friend's sister didn't seem right.

Especially when the friend who's trying to date your sister is your ex-enemy and a prince from a world-dominating nation. Zuko panicked. Who was he kidding? There was no way he could be with Katara.

...But what if _she_ wanted to be together?

Zuko looked over at the Waterbender.

Katara was beautiful.

The Fire-nation prince realized right then that if there was any chance that she felt even remotely as drawn to him as he felt towards her, regardless of how crazy it would be, nothing else would matter. He smiled as the panic melted away. He lay back down next to her and reached a hand out, lightly tracing the line of her jaw with his fingers. She shifted in her sleep as his fingers moved gently through her thick hair. Zuko smiled warmly and leaned in to kiss her softly.

"Katara!!"

Zuko's eyes flew open and his head snapped up towards the sound of Sokka's voice. The prince's stomach churned painfully—anxiety immediately returning.

"Katara~!!" Sokka called out again. Zuko held his breath, even though Sokka wasn't nearby. He could hear that Water-tribe warrior was at least a few hundred yards away. Katara groaned in her sleep and squeezed her eyes shut as her brother called out her name again. "**Katara**!!" he yelled.

"Mmrmmm.. Whaat?" she murmered, "Sokka?" Zuko turned back to Katara, his golden eyes wide. Sokka's footsteps stopped. Katara's eyes shot open as she saw who laid beside her. She partially sat up and let out a small yelp and the prince panicked. He immediately dove onto her, covering her mouth with his hand.

Sokka's feet started moving again, his voice drawing closer. "Katara?"

Zuko froze, laying on top of the Waterbender. Katara held her breath, her eyes wide. The prince gulped and slowly pulled his hand away from her lips. He could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest. She bit lightly on her bottom lip as she kept quiet, lying beneath him. The Firebender had to fight his urge to kiss her. He felt warmth grow inside him as they stared at eachother in silence. Her eyes were such a bright blue and her cheeks rosy, her breath soft against his face. The prince started to feel dizzy.

Then Zuko realized something. Somewhere along the road, whether it was a month ago, a week ago or an hour ago—he'd fallen for the Waterbender. He wanted her—he loved her.

Sokka's footsteps stopped as the two benders heard another voice sound out, "Hey, did you find her?"

Katara closed her eyes painfully and Zuko felt another pang of guilt as the Avatar's voice pierced their ears.

"No, she's not out here," Sokka answered, turning and heading back towards Aang's distant voice.

"How about Zuko?" Aang asked.

"No, he's not out here either. Maybe we should go see if Toph found them," Sokka suggested. The Fire-nation prince could hear their footsteps trailing further and further away. Once he could no longer hear the footsteps, Zuko leaned back.

Katara immediately sat up. Zuko's eyes widened and he averted his gaze as the red tunic fell away from Katara's naked body. The Waterbender gasped and pulled the fabric back up over her body. "Uh, ah—Sorry," he stuttered quickly from habit. Katara glanced at the Firebender—she looked over his bare chest and his strong arms. She thought about how tightly they held her as the two of them kissed and how rough his hands were against her skin...

She gulped, her face burning.

Zuko glanced back at the Waterbender. Her face was flushed and in her eyes the guilt was plain to see. He couldn't blame her though, he felt guilty too. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Um--" she paused. Her throat felt so dry. "W-Where are my clothes?" she mumbled. Zuko glanced around the shadowed, enclosed area of the weeping willow. He spotted them a few feet away. He stood up and headed over to pick them up for her.

Katara started to get up. "W-Wait Zuko, you don't have to—"

Zuko walked back over to her and held the crumpled ball of clothing out to the Waterbender. "Here," he whispered gently. Katara stared up at the Firebender. Her eyes met the tender look on his face that hardly matched his normally rough personality. She reached out and took her clothes from him.

"...Thank you," she whispered. Zuko nodded and turned away so she could get dressed.

Katara stood up slowly, letting his tunic fall to the ground. She clutched her clothing against her chest as she stared at the back of Zuko's head. She pulled on her under garments, dressing rather slowly, trying to get a good, real grasp on what she and Zuko just did together. She went over the scene of the two of them in her head over and over again. Tying her sash tightly around her waist, she still wasn't sure how she felt about what happened. She leaned down and picked up his shirt.

There was only one thing she was sure about.

"Um, Zuko?" she started, turning her eyes away. The Firebender turned around. Katara's face was bright red as she fidgeted with the hems of his red shirt. "Um... please, don't tell anyone about this," she pleaded, lifting her eyes to meet his. Zuko froze as her gaze met his and his heart wrenched.

Zuko wasn't going to tell anyone, so he wasn't upset that she asked him not to, but it was the way she asked—the sound in her voice. He could tell it was more than guilt.

Katara _regretted_ what she had done.

Zuko dropped his eyes to the ground. "Don't worry. I won't," he answered flatly. Katara stepped up to him, holding out his red shirt.

"Thank you," Katara whispered, placing the shirt in his hands. She didn't smile at the prince before she turned away to head back to camp. As she pushed open the vines of the willow tree, she looked over her shoulder at the Firebender. "Uh.. Maybe you should wait for 20 minutes so we don't get back at the same time?" she suggested. Zuko pressed his lips together and gave a single nod, tightly clenching the red fabric in his hands.

"Sure Katara," Zuko agreed. With that, the Waterbender nodded politely to him and left.


	15. Chapter 15

Katara wandered aimlessly through the silent, empty forest. She moved quickly and recklessly, listening to the softened forest floor squishing under her feet as she moved through the never-ending trees and brush. Stepping too quickly, Katara's feet got caught on an up-raised tree root. She fell clumsily to the forest floor, landing hard in the cold mud and murky water.

Her eyes teared up as she sat in the mud—but not because she was in pain. Images of her and the Fire-nation prince swirled through her mind, overwhelming her to tears. She felt confused and frusterated by herself and the way she felt. Goosebumps prickled their way up Katara's skin as she thought of Zuko's eyes and how they gazed into hers. She rubbed her arms and as Katara ran her fingers up her chilled forearm she could feel Zuko's warm, slightly calloused hand in place of hers. She immediately let her arms drop to her sides and listened to her own heart beat hard and fast in her chest.

Zuko was her first. The Fire-nation prince whom she loathed and mistrusted was the same person that Katara grabbed hold of, kissed, and passionately made love to. She felt dizzy as she pictured Zuko's naked body leaning over her. His skin was so pale and smooth, and all of his muscles were so perfectly shaped—_all_ of them.

As her thoughts drifted to dark places that she hardly knew existed in her mind, Katara could feel her cheeks burning and it suddenly became hard to swallow the air.

Katara had never seen a naked man before, but she knew that Zuko's body was definitely that of a man's. He was lean, beautiful, and strong. His pale skin, perfectly formed body, and super concentrated gaze made him look like some sort of beautiful statue—with only the warm color in his cheeks indicating otherwise. A soft wind blew across her neck and reminded her of Zuko's warm, jagged breathing. She trembled and shook her head, desperately trying to snap herself out of the entrancing memory.

The Waterbender shuddered as the feeling of Zuko's lips on her skin started to creep all over her body and reached her hand down to snatch up a few twigs that were floating on top of the water-logged forest floor. She stood up sharply, splashing the dirty water about her. She awkwardly stumbled about the forest, gathering sticks and pieces of wood. Katara found that having a task distracted her from picturing her and Zuko—and this way, she had an alibi for when she returned to camp.

After the Water-tribe girl had gathered enough wood to subside her dark thoughts and convince everyone that she'd gone out to get firewood, she headed to camp. Drawing closer, she slowed her steps and took a deep breath. She had to stay calm, because if Toph could feel her heart racing, she'd know something was up. Taking deep breaths through her nose, Katara clutched the bundle of damp firewood in her arms. The mud on her clothes had started to dry and she brushed a clump of it off her pants, watching it crumble to the ground.

Zuko's face flashed in her mind once again and she felt her heart skip a beat. She swallowed hard, her face feeling warm again. There was no question about it. No one could ever know about this. No one could know about what happened between the Firebender and Waterbender. The Water-tribe girl bit her lip as her heart pounded in her chest.

Especially not Aang. Above anyone else, he could _never _find out.

Katara felt the intense feeling of guilt starting to overwhelm her again. Her blue eyes lowered shamefully. She felt bad for doing what she did because of Aang, but she also felt really bad for treating Zuko the way she did afterwards. The Waterbender sighed and stamped her foot, feeling angry and frusterated that she'd become suddenly so obsessed with him.

Well, now that she thought about it, Katara realized that she had always been a little obsessed with him. In the past few weeks and before, she was obsessed with hating him and making his life miserable—but the way she thought about him now... Her chest heaved as she tried to take another deep breath. She cursed herself, holding on tight to the bundle of wood in her arms.

It made no sense. It made no sense for her to want Zuko the way she did—especially after all the pain he'd put her and her friends through. She hadn't forgotten about those times and she surely hadn't forgiven him for it. So for her to feel the way she did about him, for her to be so obsessed with him, was _weird_. But as much as she tried to deny it, as much as she told her that she disliked him, she still craved the prince's attention. She shook her head furiously, trying to shake out the twisted thoughts and feelings she felt.

This wasn't okay, this wasn't normal. It scared her a little to know that she was capable of wanting to be with someone she loathed and who was completely wrong for her in every way.

Katara forced herself to picture the Avatar's face. His brilliant smile enveloped her mind and then she could see his steel-gray eyes that sparkled with light and amusement—yes, that was Aang. Her Aang. She nodded to herself, feeling her heartbeat calm down. That was how it was always _supposed_ to be—Katara and the Airbender. That was who she wanted—healthy, happy, carefree Aang—not the troubled, confusing, angry Fire-nation prince.

Her and Aang being together were the only thing that made sense. She decided that it didn't matter how she felt about Zuko. What happened between them was the cause of some strange attraction that would eventually pass. It would have to. Because Katara knew that she could never be with the Firebender—it would never work, it would never last.

Through and through, all the way down to their bending abilities, Katara and Zuko were polar opposites.

Katara swallowed hard and took a slow step towards the camp.

She slowly emerged from the forest, into the brightness and openness of the campsite. Somehow she felt like she had been away from this place for weeks. The Waterbender squinted up at the high, bright sun. The air felt severly hot like someone had set her on fire.

"Katara!!!" Toph called out.

Katara spun around and found Toph, who was standing a little ways away, smiling to her. Aang turned away from some vegetable skewers that he was cooking over a flame, his neck craning around at the sound of Katara's name. The Avatar's shocked expression found the Waterbender and he stared, his mouth agape. His expression amused Katara—he was so easy read. She let her eyes drift slowly around the circle, stopping for a moment at her brother and father who looked a lot alike as they glared disapprovingly at her. She gulped as her heart started to race.

They didn't know what happened, there was no way that they could, but that disapproving gaze still worried Katara.

The Waterbender shrugged her shoulders passively and clutched the firewood in her arms as she approached the circle of her friends. Awkwardly, she held out the bundle of wood in her arms. "I—I went out to get some firewood?" Katara answered without being asked. She meant to say it more assertively, but instead the words ended up coming out as a small, timid question. She closed her eyes, cursing herself. The Waterbender drew in a breath, composing herself. She wasn't a meek girl, why was she acting like this? She cleared her throat and spoke more loudly, "I'm sorry I was gone so long. I got lost—"

Katara choked on her words as her brother, father, Aang and Toph were suddenly beside her. Aang pulled the Water-tribe girl into an embrace, knocking all the bits of wet wood out of her arms. Sokka and her father both started to scold her, but all she could feel was the Avatar's arms wrapped around her tightly and his soft skin as he nuzzled his face into the nape of her neck—right where Zuko's lips were not too long ago.

She trembled. Suddenly, the Waterbender felt exceedingly dirty. Katara felt tears stinging her eyes as she thought of what she'd done. "I-I'm sorry..." she whispered painfully. Her soft, painful apology silenced everyone.

Sokka crossed his arms and frowned at his little sister. "It's alright... I guess it doesn't matter how you managed to get so lost or why you left all by yourself... but how did you get so dirty?"

Katara looked to her brother, rubbing her teary eyes. "It started raining and, well, I was out looking for the firewood... And on my way back, I fell..." she babbled. Her brother sighed as her father leaned in and hugged her with Aang.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Hakkoda whispered. Aang agreed, tightening his hold.

"It's not like you to leave without telling anyone where you're going. We thought something horrible happened," Aang said. Her father and Aang released her.

Katara averted her eyes."Well, I didn't think it would take that long to get some firewood... I thought I'd be back before anyone even got up.."

She glanced sideways at Toph, who knew that the last person Katara went to see was Zuko. She wondered if she remembered or if she thought anything of it. Toph's expression was blank enough—it didn't seem like she was working out anything in her head.

The Waterbender swallowed hard and found herself feeling quite awkward among the people she'd been traveling with for the past year. She caught Aang staring at her and it made her blush. Katara could feel the mud dried in her hair and on her clothes. She must've looked like a mess. Aang reached forward and rubbed her face with his thumb, crumbling some of the dirt off her cheeks. Katara looked away, feeling embarrassed as Aang smiled unshamefully at her.

Even though she was caked head to toe in mud, Aang stared at the Waterbender, because she was still the most beautiful girl in the world. It wasn't easy for a girl to manage a soft, beautiful glow when they were as dirty as Katara was, but Aang found himself entranced by her as if he'd never seen her before. She was gone for half the day and with Zuko gone too, he was afraid that perhaps the Firebender had really betrayed them all and stolen his precious Water-tribe girl.

Aang felt the urge to press his lips against hers, but he didn't. The Avatar broke his gaze and shook off this romantic feeling that was overcoming him. Because he knew that they had agreed to being just friends until he defeated Firelord Ozai. Aang smiled as he realized that in some small way, it made him look forward to the day.

A little.

Sokka and Hakkoda dug their compasses out of their pockets and offered them to Katara so she wouldn't ever get lost again, but she refused with a laugh, insisting that she had just accidentally gone out too far. Aang's smile grew and he couldn't resist as he pulled her into another hug. Katara fell easily into his arms. Hakkoda and Sokka took the hint and headed away from the two embracing benders. Katara could feel herself melting into Aang's warmth and comfort.

"HEY!!" Toph suddenly exclaimed, a huge smile coming across her face as she broke into a sprint.

Katara felt herself tense up. There was only one person Toph was ever that excited to see.

"Zuko!!" Toph bellowed excitedly as she dove at him. Zuko smiled politely and caught the Earthbender as she attempted to pummel him. The prince's eyes moved smoothly from Toph to Katara, who was wrapped in a tight embrace with the Airbender.

As their eyes met, Katara turned sharply, but gracefully, out of Aang's hold. Aang let her fall out of his arms and he turned his attention to the Fire-nation prince. "Hey Zuko!" Aang greeted, waving. Zuko stood there stiffly, his eyes fixated on Katara. As Aang looked at the awkward prince, he could tell that he'd changed for good, and he felt badly for thinking that he might've betrayed him.

Toph started swinging at the Firebender and he easily blocked her playful punches. Aang laughed at the Earthbender and Firebender's friendship. "I think they're in love," Aang joked quietly as he took hold of Katara's hand. The Waterbender reacted with a jolt and glanced at the Avatar with wide eyes.

"What?" Katara squeaked, "Who?" Aang smiled.

"Toph and Zuko. I was just joking," he laughed. Zuko flinched, glaring at the Waterbender and Avatar. Katara didn't smile or force a laugh like she normally would and Aang started toward his tent, his hand clutching hers. Katara noticed the prince glaring at them and gently tried to pull her hand out of Aang's, but he mistook the tugging and only squeezed it tighter. "Come on, Katara. You should really get yourself cleaned up. I have the soap in my tent," Aang offered. Zuko could feel his breath getting hot as he glowered at the two benders heading away together.

With his attention diverted, Toph landed a hard hit into his gut.

It caused Zuko to keel over in pain. Toph froze, completely shocked that she'd managed to land a hit.

The Earthbender knew she was good, but Zuko was exceptional at defense. "What the hell Zuko! You never miss a block! Are you okay?" she asked angrily. Zuko couldn't help but smirk, knowing that angry tone only meant that the blind girl was concerned. He reached over and grabbed the Earthbender into a headlock. Toph laughed as she yanked herself out of his hold.

"Stop it!" she laughed. She pushed on him a little, "Where the hell were you this whole time anyway?"

Zuko's smile faded and he felt his face grow a little warm. "No where," he muttered, glancing back to Aang and Katara.

Toph looked up at him, saying nothing. Zuko took a deep breath, turning his attention back to Toph. "Sorry. I was out hunting, but I couldn't catch anything," he lied. "So I'm just frustrated."

For once, his lie was believable. Probably because he really did feel frustrated. Toph started to say something, but all the prince could hear was Katara laughing in the distance—with Aang. Zuko clenched his fists as his blood started to boil. "Excuse me," he mumbled to Toph as he strode away.

The prince crossed the campsite quickly. He reached out and gripped Aang's arm tightly, yanking him away from the Waterbender. Their hands finally seperated and Aang spun around, bewildered. Zuko was furious, but the Airbender stared up at him with such an innocent, confused look on his face, so he directed his glare at Katara—who immediately looked away.

"What is it, Zuko?" Aang asked, as Zuko released his arm. The Firebender looked down at Aang, trying to keep his anger and jealousy under control. This was his friend, but right now he'd never felt more irritated with him. The prince leaned forward into Aang's face.

"I think your vegetable skewers are burning," he answered as nicely as he could through clenched teeth. Aang leaned over, looking past the prince. The Airbender had propped a flat rock up over the firepit as a make-shift grill, which was now engulfed in flames. Aang let out a strange noise of surprise that maybe resembled a yelp and bolted over to get the fire under control. The Waterbender looked at the huge fire that Aang tried desperately to get under control. She led her gaze to the Firebender, who was still scowling.

"Did you do that?" Katara accused quietly. The prince hesitated. With a small shrug, he turned to leave. Katara flinched from anger and stepped forward, tugging on his arm. "Zuko! Why would you do that?" she demanded in a whisper. Zuko didn't answer. Katara repeated herself, "Hey—Aang worked hard on those, why would you—"

Zuko spun around. "Why do you think?!" he bellowed. Katara froze, her face growing warm. Everyone turned to see who had yelled out. Zuko ignored them. All he could see was Katara's wide blue eyes and flushed cheeks. The prince started to feel his own face growing warm and he lowered his voice, "I know you regret what happened, but—" He hesitated and stared intensely at the Water-tribe girl. He decided not to finish his sentence.

Katara felt an uncomfortable, painful knot in her stomach as she glanced around. Everyone was staring at them. "Zuko—" she whispered uncomfortably, but the Firenation prince had already turned away from her and headed straight to his tent, where he stayed for the remainder of the day.

Night fell slowly and Zuko could hear people whispering outside of his tent as they drew closer. Someone cleared their throat. "Zuko, we've still got some food left from dinner, are you sure you don't want any?" Toph asked. He growled. This day just seemed to drag on and on. He muttered his decline as he lay on top of his sleeping bag.

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten all day," Sokka answered. Zuko wondered why these two were standing outside of his tent together. He expected Toph to be there, but he wasn't expecting to hear Sokka's voice. He didn't answer, he only sighed, feeling angry and guilty all at the same time. The prince could hear the two of them heading away from his tent, mumbling to eachother.

He'd really screwed things up now. It was weird, but it didn't matter how many times he pictured it or repeated it to himself, the fact that he and Katara had sex was hard to grasp. But the way he felt about her, the jealous rage the prince felt as he stormed over to her and Aang—even the prince knew that he was in deep for the Waterbender. He gripped the sides of his head, wondering how it happened, and how the biggest problem in his life had become a girl—and not just any girl, a Water-tribe peasant girl who despises everything about him. And now he's only made it worse by showing her his jealous streak. The Firebender knew that he was too impulsive when he felt jealous or threatened. He thought he'd reached a point where he could control himself, but the way the Avatar tugged the Waterbender along toward his tent with that little smile on his face—Zuko's blood started to boil just thinking about it. He sighed, calming himself down.

He had to remember that Aang was his friend, and that, no matter what happened between the Firebender and Waterbender and what it meant to him, Katara wanted nothing to do with him.

Zuko realized he wouldn't be able to sleep. He sat up, feeling his stomach growl. He really was hungry, but he didn't want to talk to anyone. The prince didn't feel like trying to come up with meaningless small talk and he couldn't talk to anyone about what was really going on. Feeling more frustrated and alone than ever, Zuko grabbed his dual swords and peeked out of his tent. It seemed like everyone had gone to their own tents. Only Sokka and Toph were still awake by the fire, but they looked pretty engrossed in conversation.

The Firebender wondered where Suki had gone to, but decided that he didn't really care. So he shrugged it off as he snuck away into the forest to search for something to eat.

He walked deep into the forest before lighting a small flame in the palm of his hand and took a sword out, ready to kill anything he came across. Zuko walked slowly through the forest until her reached a huge clearing with a willow tree at the far end of it. His heart wrenched in pain and in the back of his mind, he knew he was going out to come here. The moonlight illuminated everything quite nicely, even though it was only a half moon. A small breeze moved through the tall blades of grass and made the leaves rustle in a beautiful way.

Zuko trudged toward the willow tree, his mind retracing every moment of that morning as he drew closer. His hands started to tremble and he found it hard to breathe as the pain in his heart started to consume him.

Still, Zuko pushed open the curtain of dangling leaves, leaking the moonlight into the darkened area. He froze as a familiar pair of bright blue eyes met his.

"Katara."


	16. Chapter 16

_4-23-2010: OH YEAH. IT'S **SMUT** TIME. Bwahahahaha~!!! XD You all knew it was coming. Haha.. Sorry again for taking so long to update... I just can't force myself to write this fanfic when I don't feel like it or the story will be even crappier than it already is. XD It's true, it's true. Thanks for everyone who does take their time to read my fic though. :D Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 16!!_

_Aiko_

* * *

Time seemed to freeze as Zuko held the curtain of the willow's vines open just far enough to see the moon lighting up Katara's face.

"..What are you doing here?" he asked hesitantly.

The Waterbender could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she stared up at the Fire-nation prince. The moon was rising behind him, so he was nothing but a dark shadow-a silhouette-and a voice. Zuko repeated himself. "What are you doing here Katara?"

She coughed a little, trying to buy herself some time. She didn't know how to answer him, so she just returned the question. "W-What are **you** doing here?"

The Firebender flinched with slight irritation. He was going to demand her to answer first-but he decided to hell with it. It never got them any where to argue with each other. Zuko swallowed the nervous, slightly angry lump in his throat and simply answered, "I couldn't sleep." Katara lowered her blue eyes, her heart pounding so hard in her chest it was painful.

"...Me neither," she admitted, raising her eyes back to his. This silenced both of the benders who stood frozen to the ground they stood upon.

The silence was broken by a rustling in the distance. Katara swiftly reached out and yanked Zuko toward her. The willow's vines swung closed behind him as he stumbled forward. As the dangling leaves stopped swinging, they blocked out the moonlight and the two benders found themselves shrouded in the darkness of the willow tree. The Fire-nation prince held his breath as the Waterbender stood close. Katara's tight grip on his arm lingered for a moment and suddenly, as though she remembered she was still holding onto him-quickly released him, taking an awkward step backwards. Zuko squinted, trying desperately to see her face. All he could make out was the blurry shape of the Water-tribe girl.

"S-Sorry, I thought that sound might've been someone and... I didn't want them to, y'know, see... us," she mumbled bashfully. Zuko could feel the warmth taking over his body as he listened to Katara speak so softly to him. His heart pounded in his chest as his mind went wild with reasons of her being here, where the two of them were this morning. Zuko swallowed hard.

"So.. why couldn't you sleep?" he asked quietly.

Katara fell silent. Zuko took a step toward her, but she shyed away. The Firebender couldn't help himself. The way Katara was acting only lifted his hopes higher and higher.

"Um-W-Why couldn't **you** slee-" Katara started, stumbling over her words.

"I asked first," Zuko answered sternly. He wasn't letting her get away with that sort of response this time. Katara fidgeted with her Water-tribe pendant as she avoided eye contact with the Firebender.

For the first and maybe only time ever, Zuko felt like he knew Katara better than she knew herself. He smiled, feeling a little smug because of it. Katara held her breath as he took another step toward her.

"Um.. well-" she started. She could feel him drawing closer and she shuffled backwards in an attempt to keep the little distance between them. She needed to come up with an answer-quickly-because as she moved back, he pressed forward. She bumped into the willow tree's trunk and exhaled a small breath.

Zuko wasn't absoultely positive of why Katara was here under the willow tree, but the fact that she was here at all-the fact that she found herself drawn to this place was enough for the Fire-nation prince to grow more and more bold. He planted himself in front of her. Zuko smiled and stepped forward, standing so close to her that she could feel his warm breathing on her face. The Waterbender swayed as she smelled the sweet, floral scent of jasmine tea on his breath. It was making her feel dizzy. "I... I just-" she stumbled as her voice faded away. Suddenly Zuko leaned forward, lightly brushing his lips against hers.

The Waterbender tensed up and shoved him away. "I just couldn't sleep, okay?!" she exclaimed, her heart racing.

Zuko let her shove him away, but stepped right back up to her. Katara eyed him wearily. She wasn't used to him being this way. Not anymore. Recently he'd been a bit of a pushover-but somewhere deep inside, in a slightly twisted way, Katara was glad this part of him was back. She was finding his aggressive side to be kind of attractive. The Waterbender swallowed hard as her body grew warm.

The Firebender simply grinned down at the Waterbender. He finally understood.

Katara had shoved him away, but she didn't make any attempt to run. Because she didn't want to escape. She wanted Zuko to be here as much as he wanted her to be here.

Katara was resisting her feelings for him, just like he was trying to resist the ones he felt for her. Zuko chuckled. He found it amusing that Katara stood under the willow tree now, trying to work out things in her head. For being so different, the two of them had many parallels and similarities. Especially on how they expressed difficult, complicated feelings.

"Katara-" Zuko started. His sight had fully adjusted to the dark and he could make out her wide-eyed, embarrassed expression.

"..What?" Katara answered hesitantly.

Zuko leaned toward her. "Do you want me to kiss you right now?" Katara gasped at the bold question and could feel her face burning. Her heart felt like it was trying to beat it's way out of her chest, but she still let her pride swell up and envelope her.

"What?! No way!" she snapped, pushing on his chest. A faint smile spread across Zuko's face and he didn't budge. Her pathetic, feeble reaction only reaffirmed Zuko's predictions. The shove into his chest was so much weaker than Katara was capable of. This was all a show she was putting on.

He wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, probably just herself, but the exiled prince found the whole situation pretty hilarious.

"Are you sure about that?" he teased. Zuko already knew that she wanted him to kiss her. She'd never admit it, but the Fire-nation prince just wanted to try and get her to say it.

Katara swallowed hard as the Firebender drew closer. "Y-Yes, I'm sure," she answered, her answer waivering a little. His breath was intoxicating and the look in his eyes made her feel light-headed. Zuko's faint smile stretched into a grin as he leaned in towards the Water-tribe girl.

"Would you be mad at me if I kissed you anyway?" he asked gruffly, lightly licking his lips.

Katara's knees buckled a little with the deep, sensual sound of his voice and wet look of his lips. She straightened herself up the best she could and tried to sound firm. "Y-Yes, Zuko-I would be **really** ma-"

Zuko leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Despite her contradicting words, Katara melted into his kiss. She grasped at his shoulders, tightly gripping the broadness of his muscles. They entwined their lips passionately and Zuko wrapped his arms around the Waterbender, holding her tightly. Their lips moved a lot more gracefully across each others' this time, their tongues playing games of tag inside their mouthes. Suddenly, Katara pulled away from the playful kissing and the prince.

"I can't do this. I can't be doing this," she whispered hastily. Zuko felt the insecure, worried pit of his stomach drop, telling him that maybe he was all wrong about Katara. She started to back even further away from the prince, but he reached out, snatching her hand. He yanked her back to him.

"Why not?" he asked in a low, slightly desperate voice.

"I-I'm sorry, Zuko," she muttered quickly, resting her forehead on his chin, "I just can't do this." Zuko breathed heavily, smelling the scent of her freshly washed hair.

"Why not?" he repeated.

"Because-this is just.. insane," she whispered, lifting her eyes back up to him, "Isn't it?"

Zuko stared down at the Waterbender.

"Well-I don't know about you, but I'm pretty much going insane either way," he answered truthfully. The flirtacious sound of his voice was gone. The Fire-nation prince wanted to make sure the Water-tribe girl knew that he was being absolutely serious. "Being with you the way we were this morning," he paused as both of their faces turned red, "It's insane to think that happened. But-" Katara met his eyes, her heart speeding up. Zuko coughed, feeling nervous. He'd never really confessed to liking a girl before. He wasn't expecting to feel this nervous.

"I really like you, Katara. I go insane when I think about you, when I see you-I go insane when someone even mentions you. I go insane when I recognize that I really do like you, because I know that I shouldn't." He took a deep breath. Katara's heart boomed inside of her as he continued, "But trying to **deny** that I like you-that drives me even more insane than all of that combined."

There was a moment of silence. "...But I don't **like** you," the Waterbender blurted out insensibly. Zuko immediately felt the sting of pain and embarrassment as the words came out of her mouth, but the prince recovered quickly. He placed his arms around her waist.

"Apparently you do," he flirted, a grin stretching across his face. Katara wiggled away from him.

"No, I really don't-cut it out," she insisted, crossing her arms. The prince huffed angrily. He didn't like to feel humiliated this way and he was losing his patience with the Waterbender.

"Then why the hell are you here, Katara?" he asked. The Waterbender jumped a little at the sudden change of tone in his voice. Zuko stepped aggressively torward her. "Why the hell did you kiss me this morning?" he interrogated.

"I-I don't know! I was confused!" Katara spat out. Zuko clenched his fists, his anger boiling over.

"Bull shit!" he bellowed. Katara furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to protest, but Zuko continued angrily, "Why did you have sex with me? Why were you were calling out **my** name and clinging to me-"

Katara gasped as he suddenly grabbed hold of her.

"Zuko-" she whimpered as he pressed himself up against her. The Firebender dug his hip bones against hers, feeling her body jolt in reaction.

"You might've hated me before, Katara, but the truth is, you want me just as badly as I want you-and that freaks you out," he confronted, holding her body firmly against his own. The Firebender didn't want to feel this infuriated, he wanted to calm down, but he was so incredibly irritated with how indecisive and wishy-washy Katara was being. "Admit it," he demanded. Katara stared wide-eyed up at the Firebender.

"N-No. That's not true-" she denied. Zuko growled and shoved her against the trunk of the willow, kissing her furiously. Katara yanked on her arms, squirming under his hold. Zuko pulled away from the Waterbender.

"**Admit it**," he breathed huskily, pinning her against the willow tree. Katara gasped for air, her ankles shaking. She slowly shook her head and the Fire-nation prince immediately moved forward, crushing her lips with his own. He was sick of this game they were playing. He knew Katara wanted to be with him or she would've gotten away already. She would at least be putting up more of a fight. As he forced her lips apart with his tongue, he knew that she wouldn't even be here right now if she didn't care about him. And it pissed him off that she not only refused to admit it, but humiliated and insulted him in the process. Katara moaned behind his lips, struggling against him. He broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers. "Admit it," he repeated again. His golden eyes bore into hers.

They both breathed heavily.

"N-" she started. Once again, Zuko stopped her answer with his mouth. Katara squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to admit it, but she couldn't make herself say it. Because to admit that outloud to Zuko, would suddenly make it real. It would make it true.

Katara hadn't even fully admitted that she liked the Firebender to _herself_ yet, because she still wasn't entirely sure that what she felt for the Firebender was "like".

The Fire-nation prince tugged at her clothes and ravished the inside of her mouth with his tongue. He could feel the Waterbender's body shuddering beneath his hold, which only made him want her more. It didn't matter if she admitted it or not, Katara was his in this moment. He could tell that he was driving her crazy, which only drove him crazier. Katara's pushed against Zuko's chest, but her arms felt increasingly weaker and her legs were in danger of giving out next. The Waterbender turned her head out of the kiss. "S-Stop-" she pleaded in a breath.

"No," Zuko grunted, untucking her shirt from the sash tied around her waist. He pulled the shirt open, revealing her under clothing. He roughly kissed the nape of her neck. Zuko bit down hard and Katara let out a small cry of pain. She could feel the Firebender hardening against her hip as he cupped her breasts through her underclothing. Katara shuddered uncontrollably, attempting to breathe. Zuko slowly slid one of his hands away from her breasts and made his way down her pants. He pried his way beneath her under garments, feeling her soft skin with his calloused finger tips. Katara gasped as his fingers inched closer, and closer...

"I don't regret what happened this morning," she quickly cried out in an almost moan. Zuko stopped, pulling his lips away from her neck. He left a deep, purpleish-red spot behind on her skin.

"I-I wanted to tell you that, but you weren't here when I got here, so... " Katara caught her breath. "So, I waited here," she panted, "For you."

Zuko eyed her as his breath got caught in his throat. _"I waited here-for you,"_ rang over and over in his head. He gulped as he resisted yanking the rest of her clothes off. "Katara," he said gruffly.

Katara loved the sound of her name when he said it. She wanted Zuko so bad. The Water-tribe girl didn't only want him in this way, but in every way possible. Katara wanted to know him as a person. She wanted to talk to him more and be around him more. She wanted to learn about his past and his plans for the future. She wanted to know what he likes and doesn't like. She wanted to know everything about him-good or bad.

But more than anything, right now-the Waterbender wanted him to continue doing what he was doing to her. And that genuinely scared her.

"Zuko," she whispered, embracing him tightly.

She felt guilty as she thought of her brother, her father, of Aang-of everyone. She thought about them finding out about her and Zuko and she felt afraid. Her stomach churned at the idea of it. But being with Zuko now, feeling his chest expand against hers with every breath he took-she couldn't deny her feelings anymore. She was fearful of the consenquences should someone find out about them, but not being able to be with Zuko, to keep pretending that she didn't care about him-terrified her more. She gazed into his golden eyes that managed to shine with fierce intensity, despite the darkness that surrounded them. She studied the large scar across his left eye. The more she looked at it, the more beautiful it had become to her-it was complex and unique, much like Zuko himself.

The Waterbender didn't have a clue how or when she started feeling this way for Zuko. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when he'd become so beautiful to her, but now-she couldn't see him any other way. She craved him probably even more than he craved her. Her chest was tight and her lungs felt as though they'd collapsed. Katara didn't care about being the Firebender's friend. She was past that and they weren't really capable of that anyhow. But this, they were capable of this. Whatever "this" was. Katara breathed a sigh of pleasure as Zuko's hands found her bare skin again. Katara could only describe this as one thing. She honestly didn't know if it had anything to do with liking him or loving him. But it wasn't quite hate, either. She gulped.

"I-I think I'm actually pretty obsessed with you," she admitted.

Zuko's whole body tingled with warmth as the words reached his ears. His hands clenched Katara's body as his own legs started to grow weak.

"But... you're right that it scares me," she proclaimed. Zuko breathed in the scent of her hair as he listened to Katara's soft, honest voice, "I mean, I **loathed** you, Zuko. And I don't mean back when we were sworn enemies. I hated you up until very recently. And it's just, it's not an easy adaption for someone to go from hating a person, to feeling the way I do about you." Her face and body were on fire. She gulped as she looked Zuko up and down. His face grew warm as slight embarrassment settled in.

"I guess I just couldn't resist how incredibly hot you are when you're angry," she said semi-lightly.

The Fire-nation prince couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward and gracefully swept the Waterbender from her feet, yanking her out of the rest of her clothing.

"You don't have **any** clue of how angry I can get," he cooed with a devious smirk on his face. Katara wrapped her bare legs around his waist, smothering him in sensual kisses. Zuko pulled his shirt off over his head and leaned in, returning Katara's passionate kisses. "Say it again," Zuko softly ordered in between breaths. His hands began to wander over her naked body.

Katara bright blue eyes were full of sensuality and mischief as she gazed up at the Firebender. She had her hands entwined in Zuko's messy black hair and she pressed her lips hard against his.

Reeling her head back, her breathing was jagged as her eyes burned into the prince's. "I'm **obsessed** with you, Zuko," she exhaled, kissing him again.

* * *

_WOO HOO! XD Hahaha... Sorry, I know I don't normally write something AFTER a chapter, but I wanted to say that, I know you all probably want me to write a sex scene somewhere, but... I've got to tell you now that I just can't do it. I initially wrote this chapter with a sex scene (and rewrote the scene several times), but I ended up editing it out. Why? Because well, to be honest, I felt like it cheapened my story. XD Okay, okay.. not really. I just suck really bad at writing sex scenes. I'm not very poetic with that sort of thing. And besides, I've already convinced myself that it's hotter to leave the sex up to the reader's imagination. So there you have it. XD Hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 'til next time..._


	17. Chapter 17

_8-3-2010: Finally! It's the next chapter! :D Sorry it takes me so long to update~ I hope you guys enjoy it!_

_Aiko_

* * *

The Water-tribe girl shaded her eyes as the summer sun blazed high in the sky. She smiled dreamily to herself. With a gentle wave of her hands, Katara bended the remaining morning dew from the grass up into the air. The sun glistened beautifully in the small droplets of water and the Waterbender gazed at them, moving her hands slightly, the thousand shining orbs dancing all around her.

"Helloooo? Katara, are you even listening?"

Toph knocked hard on the Waterbender's head. She lost her concentration and the sparkling orbs splashed to the ground. Katara grimaced as she rubbed her skull where the blind Earthbender had struck her.

"What Toph?" Katara muttered, suddenly feeling aggravated.

"I've been talking to you for the last half hour about—" Toph paused, glancing around. She continued in a whisper, "—about Sokka. I don't know what to do, I'm desperate here. I **really** like him, Katara."

Katara sighed and turned her attention to the Earthbender. "Well, he's with Suki. So what can you do?" she reminded Toph. The Waterbender's eyes drew themselves away again, this time falling upon a shirtless Zuko. She gulped. Zuko was a few hundred yards away and hadn't noticed that he'd caught the attention of the Water-tribe girl. His face was stern as he diligently demonstrated some Firebending movements for Aang.

Katara's heart fluttered in her chest as she recalled what Zuko looked like without any clothing on at all. Her face grew warm as a small smile came across her face. Toph nudged the Waterbender.

"Look—You know and everyone knows, that I'm a better match for Sokka," Toph retorted.

Katara tore her eyes away from the Fire-nation prince whom she used to loathe and stared into the face of the Earth Kingdom princess. "Well, maybe. But.." she let her voice trail away. She wasn't sure if she should be brutally honest or not. Katara pressed her lips together as she contemplated how to finish her sentence.

"What? Is it because I'm not **attractive** enough for him?" Toph urged angrily. Katara drew in a quick breath.

"No, no—! That's not it at all, Toph. You're beautiful," the Waterbender said quickly with earnest. The Earthbender smiled and felt her face flush, but it all faded once Katara continued, "It's just that... You're just a bit young for him, don't you think?"

Toph twisted her head away from the Water-tribe girl. "I'm 12 years old. We're only 4 years apart," she responded. Katara lowered her eyes. She recalled when the blind bender had suddenly kissed her brother. He didn't push her away then—and to be honest, Katara wasn't sure _why_ her brother hadn't pushed Toph away. Because she knew Sokka would never date a girl that much younger than him. Toph's even younger than Katara, after all.

But the Waterbender didn't know for sure. She hadn't spoken to her brother about what happened that day or how he felt about Toph. Katara sighed. She suddenly felt very selfish. She'd only been thinking about herself and no one else recently. As her eyes fell upon the Fire-nation prince again, she realized that wasn't entirely true.

Suddenly Toph tensed up and gripped her knees closer to her chest. Katara spun her head around just in time to see her brother approaching.

"Hey Katara," Sokka greeted.

Katara glanced up at her brother. "Hey Sokka. What's up?" she replied.

"N-Nothin'. Just, y'know, passing by," he stuttered. He hesitated as his eyes fell on Toph, whose back was facing the two Water-tribe siblings. He cleared his throat. "Hey Toph," he greeted quietly. Toph didn't turn.

She mumbled a hello and immediately stood up, scurrying away from Katara and Sokka.

Katara lifted a brow at their awkward interaction and noticed that the awkward atmosphere felt extremely familiar. She looked to her brother. "Hey, did something happen between you two?" she asked her brother bluntly.

Sokka coughed. "Not exactly," he muttered. Katara noticed the pink color creeping from his neck onto his face. "But I might've pissed her off the last time we talked," he explained.

"What'd you do?"

"Well, last night we were talking about stuff—regular stuff, and Toph..." Sokka covered his mouth with his hand, feeling increasingly embarrassed as he talked about his love life with his younger sister. "..She didn't say anything to you?" Katara shook her head. Sokka drew in a deep breath. "Well, she suddenly blurted out that she liked me and that I should be with her, not Suki."

"Wow. That's pretty bold of her—didn't know Toph had it in her," Katara thought out loud, feeling both surprised and impressed. Sokka's face was now a bright red. Katara eyed him. "Well, what did you tell her?"

"Uh, that's the thing. I didn't really say anything. I told her I was suddenly tired, got up and left," the Water-tribe teen mumbled. Katara frowned disapprovingly at her brother. He put his hands up and plopped down next to his sister. "I know, I know. It was lame," he sighed, "Y'know, it's not like I haven't thought about it. Being with Toph, that is. It's just... She's **so** young—I mean, I'm sixteen and she's **twelve**. "

"Why didn't you just tell her that instead of fleeing the scene?" Katara questioned.

Sokka stared ahead of him, thinking of his answer. "Because, to be honest—age aside, I do like Toph. I feel like I can be myself around her, goofy or not, and she doesn't mind either way. She understands when I'm serious and she's there to joke with me when I'm not. And well—of course," he paused to cough," She's cute. Really cute. When she told me that she liked me, I was actually going to tell her to wait until she's a little older, but.. that doesn't feel fair. I don't want her waiting around for me," he admitted. Sokka felt his insides turning. "And I could never do anything with her while she's so young.. I mean, she's **twelve**. I'd feel like a cradle robber. It'd feel gross. I mean, it **is** gross."

Katara's eyes widened at his second emphasis of her age. She glanced at Zuko and the Airbender practicing Firebending. "..Aang's only twelve," Katara recognized.

Sokka froze, realizing he wasn't being very careful of his sister's feelings. "Oh, well... I mean—he just turned thirteen, actually, right? Besides, technically, he's one hundred and thirteen years old. And he's the Avatar so that makes him more mature," he rambled off quickly, "So, y'know, it's cool. Completely different circumstances."

Katara smiled a little to her brother. He was such an idiot sometimes. "Hm. So technically, he's ninety nine years older than me, right? That's almost 100 years age difference, and you're okay with that?" Katara teased, sticking out her tongue. Sokka nudged her, laughing.

"Shut up," he laughed.

Katara laughed with her brother. It felt good to talk and laugh with him again. She realized it had been too long since the two of them had a chance to talk, just themselves. She grinned at her brother and thought about their conversation.

"You know what, Sokka? I don't think age really matters. I mean, you and Toph will always be four years apart in age. So, why wait if you don't want to? I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable, just hold out on being physical together," Katara explained nonchalantly. Sokka's face burned as Katara mentioned being "physical", but Katara didn't notice. "And if you really don't want to be together until she's older—if you want to tell her to wait for you, tell her. It's her choice whether she actually waits or not." Sokka stared at his sister. Katara stared back, earnestly. "All I know is... Toph really likes you. And if you like her, I don't see any problem in going for it," Katara finished. Sokka blinked, taking in the new outlook to the situation. He rubbed the side of his head, his hair tangling in his fingers a little.

"Yeah, I know. But.. Suki," Sokka said quietly, his frustration plain to see, "I really like Suki a lot, too." Katara's heart beat hard in her chest. Sokka half-smiled at his sister and shrugged a little. "I know, I'm a dog," he sighed, disappointed in himself, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Katara gulped and suddenly realized that both her and her brother were in very similar situations.

"N-No, there's nothing wrong with you, Sokka," she assured both him and herself, shaking her head in disagreement. She gazed over at the Firebender and Airbender. Aang caught her eye and waved happily. Katara froze as the Fire-nation prince glanced over. She gave a small wave to them and thought she saw Zuko smile a little to her, but she couldn't be sure. He immediately turned away, putting his shirt back on. Katara's cheeks felt warm. "I guess you should just make your decision from who you think would be a better fit for you," she said quietly, "It's as simple as that." Sokka pressed his lips together.

"Hm. Yeah. I guess you're right," he agreed. He mulled over his sister's words and added, "I wouldn't say it's simple, though." Katara gave a single nod of agreement and for a moment, the Water-tribe siblings sat there quietly. Sokka eyed his sister, smiling at her surprisingly good advice. "Hmph. When did you get so good at this relationship stuff?" he asked lightly. Katara shrugged.

"Not sure. Guess I'm just naturally amazing at giving advice," she answered with a smirk. Her eyes led themselves back to Zuko. He spoke with Aang quietly. Katara sighed and wondered what they were talking about, running a few hypothetical conversations through her mind.

Sokka followed her line of sight and his blue eyes widened, "Hey, whoa. You and Aang haven't—" Katara's face flushed ferociously as she snapped her head around towards her brother.

"What? **Sokka**!" Katara exclaimed.

"Never mind, never mind—You're right, I don't wanna know," he stuttered quickly. Katara frowned at him, her embarrassment bright on her face. He drew in a breath. "But...You haven't though, right?" Katara's eyes widened. She socked her brother in the arm.

"No! I—" Katara paused, she couldn't say it, "I never—with Aang!"

Sokka threw his arms up. "Okay okay! Sorry! I had to ask. You're my little sister. I would hate to have to try and fight the Avatar," he joked awkwardly. She couldn't believe she was really having this conversation. What made it even more awkward was that she _had _done what he was asking about, but not with Aang. Her chest was booming and she felt light-headed as the blood rushed to her face when she thought about who she _had_ done it with.

It wouldn't be the Avatar that Sokka would have to fight.

Sokka didn't know why he'd brought this up, but he was relieved to know that his sister hadn't done anything. He sighed, "Well, good. I mean, heh, I haven't even done—" Katara's face flushed and so did Sokka's. He didn't finish his sentence. He stood up in a jolt. "A-Anyway, I think I'm gonna go, uh, take a nap. I'm kind of," he faked a yawn and stretched, "Tired." Katara just nodded. She didn't care that he was lying. She just wanted this conversation to be over. The Water-tribe teen nodded awkwardly to his younger sister. Sokka took a few steps and hesitated. He spun around, looking sheepish. "Oh, and—don't tell Toph what I said," he requested quietly, "About anything." The Waterbender frowned at her brother, still feeling massively embarrassed by their conversation. She said nothing and just nodded to him.

He nodded back and headed away from her, back to his tent. Katara felt hot all over. Like a slap in the face, Katara's guilt overrun her and she realized how much _everyone_ expected her and Aang to get together.

And, frustrating enough, she wasn't sure that she disagreed with them. The Water-tribe girl felt passionately about the Fire-nation prince, but she wasn't sure if this was anything that would last. It had only been two days since she and the Firebender met under the willow tree. They haven't spoke much since. Her heart skipped a beat as she reminisced about that night and the way Zuko's bright, intensely golden eyes stared into hers.

Suddenly, she noticed that something was blocking the sun and shading her. She opened her eyes, seeing Aang standing over her. He was shirtless and his skin had started getting a bit of a tan. She also noticed that his body was getting more and more muscular with all the Firebending training he was doing. She swallowed hard.

"Oh, hey Aang," she greeted as easily as she could, her heart speeding up. She cursed herself in her head. How could she be so fickle? She eyed the Airbender. When did she start noticing things like how big Aang's shoulders had gotten and how low his shorts were hanging on his hips? Aang smiled as he noticed Katara looking. His face blushed a little.

"H-Hey Katara. I was just coming by to see if maybe you'd wanna go play some Water-ball at the river?" the Airbender asked. Katara tore her eyes away and forced an indifferent smile at the Airbender. Out of the corner of her eye, she snuck a glance at the Firebender. His back was turned and fully clothed. The Waterbender was hoping to meet his eyes. But he wouldn't take notice of her now. He never did before, and she knew that they agreed that they should act as though nothing has changed between them. It was mainly her idea, after all. Neither of them liked the idea much, but they both knew that no one could know about the two of them.

She understood the agreement.

But right now, with Aang standing before her the way he did now, she felt like she needed to see Zuko's eyes on her. She felt a lump form in her throat and with one last unmet gaze, she led her attention to the Avatar.

"Um, sure. I'm down for a game. Let me go change and I'll meet you by the river?" Katara suggested.

"Sure—I need to cool off after all of that Firebending training," Aang explained with a grin, "So I'll see you out there." He headed away from her, waving. Katara smiled a limp smile, waving back.

She immediately turned her eyes away once Aang had gone, scanning the campsite for Zuko, but he was gone. The Waterbender's face fell and the disappointment weighed in on her shoulders. She didn't know how it was so easy for Zuko to go back to completely ignoring her existence—she was having an extremely hard time. But that wasn't surprising. Even when they hadn't done anything together, she found it nearly impossible to ignore Zuko.

Katara stepped into her tent and froze. Zuko sat on her sleeping bag, shirtless once again. He looked up as she walked in.

"Hey," he said. Katara's face warmed up instantly with the sound of his gruff voice and serious look on his face. She gulped.

"H-Hi," she whispered. She couldn't have been happier to see him. But the thought of Toph sensing them together ruined the moment and snapped her back to the reality of the situation. The Waterbender had to resist herself rushing over to kiss him. She cautiously glanced around. "Zuko, what're you doing here? If we get caught—" she whispered hastily. Zuko leaned back on his hands.

"I heard something about you going to change," he answered coolly, "Thought I'd check it out." Katara eyed him—smiling at his smugness.

"Get out of my tent, Zuko," Katara urged, still smiling.

He leaned forward, his lips stretching into a grin. "Make me."

"Look, I would love to throw you out, but I don't want to embarrass you and make a scene," Katara retaliated, crossing her arms.

"Why not?" he teased, "Sounds fun. We know what happened last time you tried to best me." Katara's face flushed and her heart skipped a beat. This was no good. If the conversation continued this way, she'd be climbing into that sleeping bag with him in no time and if Toph sensed that—there'd be no explaination.

"Seriously, you need to leave! I'm not going to change in front of you!" she whispered, more seriously.

"Aw, c'mon. It's not like I haven't seen—"

Katara dashed up to him, shushing him. "Look, Zuko, we talked about this—We can't talk like this near the campsite, Toph might sense you in my tent and that would be **really** hard to explain!" she explained in a whisper. The Fire-nation prince simply smirked at the Waterbender and got up. She followed him with her eyes.

"Fine, I'll go, I'll go," he murmured. He stood in front of the Water-tribe girl, his eyes full of mischief. "Meet me at our place tonight?" he asked quietly. Katara drew in a quick breath, her face blushing red. _"Our place," _she thought to herself. She knew where he meant and exactly what it meant to meet there. Her heart raced in her chest. Zuko leaned in, his lips just barely touching hers. Katara gasped and closed her eyes. Inside her head, she begged him to kiss her.

Zuko felt his own face grow warm. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. It was already too much of a risk to be in her tent like this. "See you tonight," he whispered, pulling his teasing lips away. He grinned at her, lifted the backside of her tent and snuck out. Katara stood in the center of her tent, her heart pounding and body quivering. Swallowing hard, she realized how badly she needed to go cool off in the river too.


	18. Chapter 18

_Yay for Chapter 18! :D I hope you guys enjoy reading it~_

Aiko

* * *

The day was drawing towards its end as the sun fell lower into the horizon. The group of refugees sat scattered about the campsite, some relaxing with a game of charades, while others trained. As Sokka bellowed with laughter in the distance, Katara's heart was skipping nervously in her chest. "Seriously, Duke, that has got to be the **worst** impersonation of a moose-lion I've ever seen!" the Water-tribe native laughed, slapping his knee. The Duke's face flushed as everyone joined in with Sokka's laughing. Katara forced a chuckle and glanced up at the dim moon that rose higher into the sky, knowing that soon enough, she and Zuko would be together again under their willow tree. The butterflies in her stomach danced around wildly.

The Waterbender absent-mindedly tossed some dry ingredients together in one of Sokka's hand-made bowls, mixing them gently with her fingers. She rolled some seasoned chunks of tofu in the breading and dropped them one by one into a pot of bubbling oil. The bean curd cubes sizzled and popped as they fried. As the golden brown tofu floated up to the surface of the oil, Katara plucked them out of the pot with a pair of chopsticks, setting them into a larger bowl.

In the distance, she could see Zuko and Aang practicing Firebending. It seemed like Firebending training was all the two of them did recently. The Waterbender took a moment to remember what day it was. Recently she found herself losing track of time. The last few days all started to blend together since she and Zuko had begun staying up all night. She yawned as she realized that summer was quickly coming to an end and the day of Souzen's comet was only a couple weeks away..

Suddenly there was a loud pop.

Katara cried out as some hot oil sprayed onto her skin. She winced in pain as she cradled her mild burn. The pain quickly faded, being that only a few small drops of oil came in contact with her skin. Relieved, she glanced up, surprised to see both Zuko and Aang standing before her.

"Are you okay?" Aang and Zuko asked simultaneously. Katara froze. The three of them were silent for a moment. The Airbender was the first to move, turning to the Firebender and arching a questionable brow. Zuko's face flushed and he swallowed hard.

"G-Geez, you yelled out like Azula showed up or something," Zuko stuttered as meanly as he could. He crossed his arms and scoffed. "A bit of a dramatic reaction for a tiny grease burn, wasn't it?"

"Hmph, like you have any right to talk about being dramatic," Katara rebutted without hesitation. Zuko glared at her and she tensed up. She knew they were only pretending to bicker, but that look on his face still managed to send shivers down her spine. Aang frowned.

"Hey guys—"Aang started.

"Whatever. I'm out of here," Zuko said quickly before Aang could scold them on being 'nicer' to each other. He waved a little as he walked off and added, "Just tell me when dinner's ready."

Aang sighed. Once the Firebender left, the Avatar immediately turned to Katara and took her arm in his hands, looking over her small burns. Katara let out the breath she'd been holding in her lungs. She never expected an overreaction like that to such a minor injury. As Aang studied her burns, Katara tried to keep her eyes on the Airbender—but she found that they couldn't resist finding their way over to Zuko. The prince didn't meet her gaze. Instead he stood a short distance away outside of his tent, his face twisted up in blatant jealousy. He clenched his fists tightly at his sides and his golden eyes burned into the Avatar's back.

Katara pursed her lips as her cheeks grew warm—she wished he wouldn't be so obvious.

Zuko seemed to realize how obvious he was being and spun around, disappearing into his tent. The Waterbender turned her attention back to the Avatar.

"It's okay. I'm fine, Aang," she insisted, tugging on her arm a little. Aang ignored the Water-tribe girl, keeping a hold on her arm as he strenuously examined her skin. Katara blushed with his honest concern and gentle touch. He ran his long fingers over the mild burns, pressing lightly.

"Does it hurt there?" he asked, lifting his gray eyes to meet hers. Aang's face was dangerously close to hers and the pink color in her cheeks deepened.

"Uh, it-it really doesn't—" she stuttered, staring back at him, "—hurt at all." Aang smiled warmly at her, not seeming to mind how close they were to each other. Katara swallowed—she knew someone who would mind should he see them. Her eyes darted sideways.

She noticed that a few pieces of tofu remaining in the pot were starting to overcook and she used it as an excuse to swiftly yank her arm out of Aang's grasp. The Waterbender reached over with the chopsticks, pulling the last few pieces out. She placed the last of the fried tofu in the serving bowl and turned to Aang. Katara smiled widely at the Avatar. "Well, dinner's ready," she announced. Aang eyed her.

"You sure you're okay? Do you need me to get you some water so you can heal yourself?" Aang asked. Katara shook her head.

"Really Aang, it was nothing," Katara told him calmly as she presented her arm again, "Look—the oil didn't even leave any marks."

"Okay.. Well, I'll help you serve out the dinner plates," he offered. Katara nodded slightly in agreement. The Airbender gathered plates together and filled rice bowls with freshly steamed rice. He glanced at Katara. She didn't meet his gaze, but she could feel his eyes on her. The Waterbender continued to evenly divide up the tofu and vegetables onto each small plate.

"S..So, that was weird," Aang noted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

The Waterbender flinched, but continued adding tofu one by one to each plate. "What was?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Zuko," Aang muttered.

Katara gulped. "Oh, that. Yeah—he's a jerk," she replied, trying to sound as snippy as she could.

Aang stared at her quietly.

"Well, we should get everyone around for dinner," Katara changed the subject. She held out a kettle and smiled. "Think you could you warm up some water for tea, Avatar Aang?" she teased. Aang chuckled.

"Sure," Aang answered with a smile.

* * *

Zuko glanced up at the sky. It was just now getting dark. The hour was pretty late, but the daylight lasted so long in the summer. He shoveled the last big bite of his dinner and washed it down with the last bit of his tea.

The prince let out a sigh as he snuck a glance at Katara. Somehow, he didn't know it was possible, but he had grown even more impatient than he already was. The Firebender hated how the days seemed to just drag on. He willed the sun to descend from the sky faster.

If only he were powerful enough of a Firebender to be able to control the sun. He scoffed at the idea. He'd probably end up abusing his ultimate power by keeping the sun down past the horizon all day every day.

He leaned back on his hands. Normally the sun gave Zuko a feeling of energy unmatched by anything, but he found himself anticipating the night time and the bright moonlight—because that was the only time he got to spend with the Waterbender. He caught another glimpse of the Waterbender from the corner of his eye. She immediately looked in the opposite direction—which meant that, this time, she was looking at him too. Zuko smiled to himself, his heart warming.

Somewhere along the way, this ordinary Water-tribe girl had become more important to him than the sun.

Suddenly Toph plopped down beside Zuko and nudged him. "Hey Sparky, why are you being so quiet?"

"What?" Zuko looked sideways at the Earthbender and she chuckled.

"Hah, well, I guess you don't normally say much," Toph remarked. She wiggled her toes against the ground."It's just that your heart is beating pretty hard over here."

Zuko froze.

"Well, you know.. I was, uh—" Zuko stuttered. He really was horrible at lying. "I was just thinking about something," he said. That was truthful, yet vague. That was the only way he seemed to handle lying to everyone. By telling the truth in the vaguest way possible. He noticed Toph's face twist up strangely and Zuko felt someone plop down on the other side of him. " Hey guys, want some fresh jerky?" Sokka presented a piece of home-made meat jerky, grinning. Toph stared straight ahead, so Sokka glanced at Zuko and held the piece of dehydrated meat out to him. "It's Momo flavored!"

Toph sighed and Zuko wrinkled his nose as Sokka slapped his knee, bellowing with laughter at his own bad joke. "Hah hah hah... I'm just joking! It's Boar-Q-Pine jerky." Zuko eyed him again.

"No thanks, Sokka," Zuko mumbled, "I didn't know people even ate those."

"Yeah, get lost," the blind Earthbender sneered, looking slightly in his direction.

Sokka ignored her. "Oh I'll eat anything," Sokka admitted proudly, "I've tasted some really weird meats, but this one's really not so bad." He waved the jerky in Zuko's face. "C'mooon," he urged, "I know you're deprived of meat since Katara decided to start only cooking things Aang likes to eat."

Zuko clenched his jaw. He snatched the jerky from Sokka's hand. "Whatever, give it here," Zuko mumbled, taking a big bite. As he chewed the tough meat, Zuko had to admit that the flavor wasn't so bad. Sokka fished another piece out from his satchel and offered it to Toph.

"Here, Toph," he offered softly.

She blindly reached around in the air. When her fingertips brushed against it, she yanked it out of his hand. "Okay, I'll try your stupid boar-whatever jerky! Now get outta here, Sokka, I'm trying to talk to Zuko!" Toph snapped. Sokka frowned.

"Fine," he muttered as he stood up. Zuko tensed up.

"N-No! It's okay—stay Sokka," Zuko insisted. He found that he didn't want to be left alone with the Earthbender right now. Toph growled in disagreement as Sokka grinned and bit into the Boar-Q-Pine jerky. He sat back down beside the Firebender.

"So what's goin' on?" Sokka asked, chewing. Toph sat silently, looking in the other direction.

"Oh nothing. We were just talking about—" Zuko started.

"Zuko's heart was beating all weird, so I thought I'd come see if he was okay and then you came over and butted into our conversation," Toph grumbled.

"Oh," Sokka mentioned, ignoring Toph's bitter tone, "Whatcha thinkin' about?" He bit off another chunk of Boar-Q-Pine jerky. "Thinkin' about your girlfriend?"

Zuko froze and Toph glanced sideways at the prince.

"Aha! Ah hah hah! That's it, isn't it?" Sokka laughed, waving his half-eaten meat at Zuko.

Toph couldn't help a grin as Sokka laughed. "Aww, that's **so** sweet," she teased, elbowing the Firebender. Zuko's breath caught in his throat. He knew they were talking about Mai, but his eyes found Katara. The Firebender was quiet as he watched Katara speak with her father, Suki and Aang.

"Who knew you were a big softie at the core?" Toph teased, laughing with Sokka and pushing Zuko a little.

Zuko felt the embarrassment creeping into his face. "There's nothing sweet about it," Zuko replied, trying desperately to stop his heart from pounding the way it was. He pushed Toph and Sokka away from him as they poked at his ribs from both sides. "Cut it out guys—I'm not even thinking about her that way."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Sokka said sarcastically.

Toph dug her feet into the ground. "You're such a horrible liar, Zuko. Your heart is, like, fluttering. It's beating so fast it's like a humming dragonfly."

"Yeah, a humming dragonfly that's in **love**," Sokka chimed in with a laugh. The Water-tribe native and Earthbender were getting a kick out of seeing this easily embarrassed, vulnerable side to their ex-enemy.

Zuko's nostrils flared as they rolled in laughter. "Enough!" Zuko yelled.

Everyone in the campsite stopped at looked at the three for a minute. The prince froze, looking around at everyone's faces. His cheeks were on fire. He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands. He felt so embarrassed and frustrated. Zuko kept his head hung, his face burning in the palms of his hands. Despite their curiosity, the group of refugees returned to their conversations.

Sokka and Toph looked at one another, their laughter ceasing. Zuko fell silent. Toph's lingering glance moved from Sokka to the Firebender, her smile fading to a somber expression.

"..you really love her, don't you?" Toph asked.

The Fire-nation prince's golden eyes peeked over at Katara from between his fingers. His heart pounded, or well, _fluttered_ in his chest as one plain answer stood alone in his mind.

"...yeah," Zuko breathed.

Sokka looked away uncomfortably and Toph smiled a little to the prince. She felt touched, sad and a little envious, even. She socked the prince playfully in the arm. "Well, don't worry Sparky, I'm sure you two will kiss and make up after Aang beats the Firelord," she reassured. Zuko swallowed hard. He sat up, pulling his hands away from his face and his eyes away from Katara.

"..Y-Yeah. That's what I'm hoping," he replied quietly.

Sokka patted him on the back. Zuko resisted cringing. He felt so uncomfortable.

Across the circle, Katara stretched her arms up over her head.

"Well, guys, I think I'm gonna get to bed," Katara yawned. Zuko shifted his eyes back to Katara, but quickly looked away. He smiled a little. She was getting as antsy as he was.

"Uh, really? You never go to bed this early. Hell, usually you're the last one up," Sokka pointed out. Katara shrugged.

"Yeah, but I think I might be getting a little sick," the Waterbender replied nonchalantly, "So I'll just—"

"Are you really? Do you need me to do anything for you?" Aang offered, "I can make some soup for you and bring it by."

"Yeah, you'll need your strength for the battle in a few days," Toph added.

Katara froze. Her heart started to speed up as she started to panic.

"It's okay, I'll make her some tea and bring it by," Zuko quickly offered. Everyone looked to him. Katara's face flushed. Her heart warmed at his offer, but they weren't supposed to be nice to each other. Zuko couldn't seem to grasp that concept.

Katara twisted her face into disgust. "Ugh, no thanks, **Zuko**. I want to feel better, not worse," she snapped.

Zuko caught on and put on an angry face. "I was just trying to help!" he bellowed.

"Well, I—" Katara started. Aang jumped up.

"H-Hey guys, it's okay. No need to get all worked up. Especially if you're getting sick," Aang interfered. "**I** can bring you some tea later, if you want." Zuko flinched as his blood started to boil under his skin. Katara felt an uncomfortable sense of guilt run through her chest as she quickly shook her head.

"No no, I really just want to go lay down and sleep," she insisted, "I'll be fine." She swallowed the lump in her throat. It felt horrible to lie to everyone, to Aang. And it felt horrible to dismiss Zuko the way she did.

The Avatar nodded. "Well then, at least let me walk you back to your tent," he offered as he stood up. Katara tensed up, glancing sideways at the Fire-nation prince. She knew how angry these types of moments made Zuko. She heard him huff under his breath. Katara sighed, bowing to everyone. Aang smiled to her and she turned, heading away from the camp fire—the Airbender in her company.

Once they reached her tent, Katara climbed into her sleeping bag and Aang knelt beside her. "I'll stay here until you fall to sleep," he replied. Katara swallowed hard. She should've just said she was tired. Now she'd gone and worried Aang about thinking she might get sick.

"That's really not necessary—" Katara started. Aang shushed her.

"I'm staying. So just close your eyes," Aang insisted. Katara hesitated, furrowing her brow. She forced a smile and nodded to the Avatar, looking as sleepy as she could.

"Thanks, Aang," she whispered. Aang smiled. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She figured she'd just pretend and wait for him to leave. But the longer the Airbender sat beside her, the more frustrated the Waterbender got.

Finally, after what felt like two lifetimes later, she felt him shift his weight.

"Katara? Are you asleep?" he whispered. She kept her breathing even and her face unresponsive. The Avatar leaned over the Water-tribe girl. He stared at her, his gray eyes warm. He gently brushed away some hair that was in her face.

"Um... So, I wanted to tell you something. You know, in case I don't get a chance to say it," Aang murmured. Katara froze, her heart starting to beat harder in her chest. He stared at her face, looking for any indication that she was waking up. "Katara—I just... I want to say that I'm glad I met you," he confessed to the seemingly sleeping Waterbender. "I want to apologize though. Because, while I'm glad we met—I can't help but regret the fact that you might not have ever experienced any of the pain you've experienced if I hadn't run away back then. I mean, the war might not have happened at all if I wasn't such a coward."

Katara's breath caught in her throat, but she released it, trying not to let on that she was pretending.

"I never told you, but... Back when we were all in Ba Sing Se, when I went to visit with the Guru—he told me in order to master my Avatar state, I'd have to let go of the people I love," he continued quietly, "And... I couldn't let you go. I don't want to let you go."

Katara winced slightly at the sincerity in his voice. "You're all I have, Katara. You're the only person left that I really care about," Aang confessed, "That's why I refused to let you go."

The Waterbender choked back a sob and resisted the tears pierced at the backs of her eyelids. She could hardly stand it. She couldn't stand that she was lying to him, to everyone, only to betray his love for her by being with Zuko. She could feel herself start to tremble.

"I love you," he whispered bluntly. "And, even if it's selfish, all the regrets I have go away when I think of that," he admitted with a smile, "So, thanks for pulling me out of that iceberg, and for.. everything." She clenched at the insides of her sleeping bag. She felt her eyes welling up with water. He grew suddenly quiet and she could feel his breath closing in on her face.

"What're you doing?"

Aang's face flushed furiously and he snapped his head around to find Zuko standing at the entrance of Katara's tent.


	19. Chapter 19

_09-10-2010: Wooooot! Chapter 19 is officially here! :D This was probably the chapter I wrote the fastest, with the fewest proof-reads.. sooooo sorry if it sucks or if there's lots of errors! XD (Hahaha! I might do a little tweaking later~ ^ 3^) Enjoy!_

_Aiko_

* * *

The Firebender glared down at the Airbender, tightly gripping the tray of tea, his nostrils flared.

"Uh, uh—I was just making sure she was asleep," Aang lied. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. His shoulders dropped as he turned to Zuko. His gray eyes narrowed on the Fire-nation prince and he furrowed his brow suspiciously. "..What're you doing here anyway?"

"What do you think? I'm here to bring her some tea!" Zuko yelled. He couldn't contain himself as he thought about what would've happened if he hadn't walked in when he did.

Aang jumped up and shushed Zuko. "Okay, okay! Geez, don't wake her up!"

Katara was frozen inside her sleeping bag as the two boys stood in her tent arguing over her. She thought about just "waking up", but decided against it. She was still whirling with emotion from Aang's confession, she wasn't ready to be in the middle of a conversation between the Airbender and Firebender.

The benders kept quiet for a moment before continuing their conversation. Aang eyed the Fire-nation prince. "I thought she said she didn't want any tea," Aang recalled. The Firebender gritted his teeth.

"Yeah well, she probably doesn't want you in here trying to kiss her either, but here you are," Zuko snapped quietly. His raven black hair dangled in front of his livid expression.

Aang's face flushed. "I-I **wasn't** going to kiss her!" the Airbender stuttered.

"Bull crap!" Zuko yelled again. He knew he needed to calm down, but he couldn't get the picture of Aang's lips closing in on Katara's out of his head.

Aang glared back at him, not bothering to hush the prince."You know what, Zuko? Maybe I was going to kiss her," the young bender snapped, "What does it matter to you?" Zuko flinched in anger as he felt an overwhelming desire to punch the Avatar. Aang continued smugly, "We've already promised each other that we're going to be together after Souzen's comet—"

"Look, I don't care what you've told each other or whether or not you're going to be together later," Zuko growled, "You're **not** together now, so you can't just go around kissing her in her sleep!"

Zuko's blood boiled under his skin and his knuckles turned white as he tightened his fists. "Seriously, why are you even **here**, Zuko?" Aang asked, feeling increasingly agitated with the Fire-nation prince.

"I—"

Katara swallowed hard. As much as she didn't want to butt in, she had to try and put a stop to this. The Waterbender rolled over on her side and made a sleepy noise. The two male benders froze and looked down at the Waterbender. She opened her eyes slowly. Katara faked a surprised reaction. "What-What are you guys doing in here?" she asked semi-angrily. Aang's face flushed and Zuko's eyes widened as he realized how close he was to completely losing it.

"O-Oh! Katara! Sorry if we woke you up—" the Airbender started. Zuko lowered his eyes.

"Get **out**! Both of you!" she demanded, holding the sleeping bag close to her body.

Aang quickly obliged, politely bowing to her. He glared at Zuko as he headed out of the tent. Zuko didn't meet the Avatar's angry gaze. The prince knelt down and left the tray of tea on the floor. "Here. I was just bringing you some tea," he mumbled.

Katara's face softened as Zuko looked at her apologetically.

The Firebender soon stepped out of her tent, finding Aang standing outside with his arms folded over his chest. "Why are you being so nice to her recently?" he asked suspiciously. Zuko hesitated.

"...It's none of your business," Zuko muttered, walking past the Avatar. Aang grabbed the Firebender by the shoulder.

"Actually, it **is** my business, because anything that has to do with Katara is my business," the Airbender challenged boldly. Zuko kept as calm as he could, sighing angrily. He jerked his shoulder away from Aang's hand, whirling around.

"Look—"

"Answer me—why are you being so nice to Katara? She hates you," Aang replied bluntly. Zuko's heart sunk for a moment. Even if it wasn't true, it still hurt to hear someone say that Katara hated him. The prince scratched the back of his head.

"So what if she does? I mean, I don't particularly like her either," Zuko lied. There was no response from the Airbender. The Firebender drew in a deep breath. "You're looking too much into it—I'd do this for any of the others if they were getting sick," Zuko insisted. Aang stared at him, still unconvinced. Zuko growled. He was getting annoyed of that expression on the Avatar's face. "Look," the prince started sternly, "We only have a small group of people. Katara's a really strong bender. We can't afford to have anyone like her getting sick before the day of the comet. I know it's not for a couple weeks, but everyone needs to keep their strength up so they can train for the final battle."

Aang's tense stance finally relaxed and his suspicious expression finally faltered. "Oh." Aang averted his eyes. "Well, why were you so upset about..." the Avatar let his sentence fade away. Zuko flinched in anger.

"About the fact that you were going to kiss Katara while she was asleep?" the prince finished for him. Aang gave a single nod. Zuko was forced to picture it again and the Firebender started to tremble as the anger inside of him fought to get to the surface. "Yeah. Well—it just... seemed **odd**, okay?" he lied. That wasn't it. Not at all. The prince simply felt that Aang should never come anywhere near Katara with his lips, ever.

Aang swallowed hard. "But you got so mad," he said, "It was like..."

"Like what?" Zuko challenged. The prince dared him to say it, but Aang stayed silent. He led his golden eyes away, feeling annoyed. "I personally don't think a guy should kiss a girl in her sleep. It's like taking advantage of them," he explained.

"...Yeah, I guess that's true," Aang admitted, his cheeks turning a deep red, "But, you know, Katara and I are practically together so—"

"I don't care about that," Zuko interrupted, his nostrils flaring.

He really didn't. The rivalry the Firebender constantly felt between himself and the Avatar took a toll on their short-lived friendship. Whether Aang and Katara were together or not at this point meant nothing to Zuko. He would continue meeting the Waterbender as long as she was willing.

The prince turned away from the Avatar. "I'm going to bed. You should get some sleep, too. We have a full day of training again tomorrow," he said harshly.

Aang nodded and bowed to his Firebending teacher. The Airbender watched the Fire-nation prince head away. Aang finally spun on his heels and trudged off toward his own tent. He quickly shook the suspicious thoughts out of his head. There was nothing to worry about when it came down to it.

Even if Zuko had started to like Katara—it was exceedingly obvious of how much she _loathed_ Zuko.

Aang smiled to himself. When the Airbender first thought that Zuko might like Katara, he wasn't sure how Zuko could even fall for a girl who despised him so. But thinking about it again, Aang knew firsthand how easy it was to love and care about Katara. As the Avatar entered his own tent, his mind drifted to the Waterbender. He visualized her bright, shining eyes and her brilliant smile.

Aang grinned, feeling relieved. He realized that he couldn't really blame the Fire-nation prince for falling for her if he had. The Avatar yawned. He undressed and climbed into his sleeping bag.

Aang nuzzled his face against his pillow and rested his tired eyes, pushing his worries of Zuko to the back of his mind.

* * *

Zuko paced angrily in his tent, thinking about the Avatar and the Waterbender. He could hear footsteps approaching and he immediately sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to appear calm. If it were Toph, he wouldn't fool her, but should it be anyone else—he was certain he'd convince them that he was just meditating calmly.

"..Zuko?" Katara whispered from outside. The Firebender froze.

He leapt up from the floor and threw open the flap of his tent. The Waterbender stood there wide-eyed. For a moment she said nothing to the prince.

"Everyone's asleep," she whispered softly, "I didn't know if you wanted to maybe, um, go over together..." Her face burned. Katara fidgeted with the ends of her hair, her eyes leading themselves away from his.

Zuko suddenly stepped forward, pulling her to him and kissing her furiously. Katara resisted, knowing that someone might see—but he grasped onto her body, his fingers digging into her back and hips. It wasn't long before her lips were moving across his, returning the kiss with just as much desperation.

The moon shone over them as they tugged recklessly at each others' clothing, moving their lips roughly against one another's. Zuko suddenly pulled his lips away and stared down at the Waterbender. "Never let Aang kiss you again," he demanded in a whisper.

"He didn't kiss me," she breathed. Her eyes were closed, waiting for his lips to find hers again. Zuko didn't move. She finally opened them, gazing up at him. "..What's wrong?"

The prince grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the forest.

"Zuko, what-" she whispered, as her feet tried to keep up with him. Katara didn't finish her sentence and she lowered her blue eyes, letting him pull her along through the dark woods. The two benders finally reached the weeping willow clearing. Zuko pulled her through the curtain of vines and released her hand, his back still turned to the Water-tribe girl.

For a moment, all they could hear was their own breathing.

"...I'm sorry about before," she muttered. "But you don't have to worry. Nothing happened."

The Firebender scoffed to himself—he had plenty to worry about. "Yeah, nothing happened because I walked in," Zuko hissed.

Katara cringed at the tone in his voice. "I wouldn't have let him kiss me!" she insisted.

"Why should I believe that? You didn't stop him all the other times he's kissed you! " Zuko rebutted.

Katara glared at him. "Zuko—" He spun around to face her.

"How many times did you kiss him?" he asked bluntly. She furrowed her brow.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered.

Zuko clenched his jaw as he stepped up to her. "Was it that many times?" he growled. "You lost count?"

"N-No!" Katara argued.

"Well then?" Zuko pressed.

Katara crossed her arms, feeling increasingly uncomfortable and angry. "Hmph—what about Mai?" she snorted.

He stepped aggressively towards her, his words furious, "Don't try to turn this around!"

Katara pushed him away. "What, I don't get to ask questions? Maybe I feel jealous sometimes, too!" she yelled. She pushed him again, tears piercing the backs of her eyes. "At least I never told you that I'm with you because I just miss being with someone else!"

Steam rose from Zuko's burning skin as he stumbled back with another one of Katara's shoves. He grabbed her wrists firmly, yanking her to him. "I never even said that! I said I **kissed** you because I missed Mai, and that was bullshit anyway!" he bellowed, "What kind of idiot boyfriend would I be if I kissed someone else because I really just missed my girlfriend?"

Katara froze, her eyes wide. Zuko clenched Katara's wrists, staring intensely at her.

"But, you said—"

"I know what I said!" he yelled. He released her wrists angrily. Katara winced at the booming sound of his voice. He swallowed hard and quickly forced himself to relax, leading his golden eyes away from her. "I'm telling you that I kissed you all those times because..." he gulped, his face growing warm, "...because I couldn't help myself. I **wanted** to kiss you. Everything I told you before was a load of crap that I was telling myself so I wouldn't feel so guilty about it." He glanced at the Waterbender's body. Her wrap-around shirt hung partly open, revealing the uppermost curves of the Waterbender's ample breasts and tan skin. He tore his eyes away and found her eyes. "..Just so you know, there's no way I could **ever** confuse you with Mai," he mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Zuko's body grew warm. Katara's hair and clothing were all disheveled from all the shoving and fighting they'd been doing. He found the Water-tribe girl adorable and sexy at the same time—the prince had to resist the urge to tackle her to the ground right then and there.

He let out a deep breath as his heart pounded lustfully in his chest.

It wasn't that Mai wasn't attractive and it wasn't that he didn't have feelings for her anymore, not at all. It was just that Katara was different. She was passionate and loud. She was opinionated and emotional. She was kind and motherly. She was powerful, but gentle. The Water-tribe girl was the complete opposite of Mai. When he thought about how Mai helped him escape at the prison against the orders of his sister, he felt guilty. But Zuko also couldn't help how interested he was in Katara. He wanted to hear more stories of Katara's life, he craved her thoughts on things and her company—he craved _her_.

The more often the Firebender met the Waterbender under the willow tree, the more he realized that—while Mai had much in common with the Firebender—Katara was better suited to him. Whether they were arguing or being intimate, they just seemed to harmonize with one another.

The Firebender gazed at Katara as if she should already know that he felt this way about her.

Katara's face flushed with his admiring expression. She shyly pulled her shirt together, only now realizing that it was hanging open. Zuko objected, quickly stepping forward and meeting her neck roughly with his lips. He reached inside the Water-tribe girl's blouse, grasping lustfully at her breasts. The Waterbender's lips quivered as her breathing grew ragged. He ran his tongue playfully across her earlobe, nibbling a little, before leading his lips to hers. She locked her lips to his, tasting his sweet, warm breath. Zuko's chest tightened. He wanted to keep kissing her this way—he didn't want to ruin the moment.

But he never got his answer about Aang.

He decided to try and sound as nonchalant as possible, instead of aggressive. He broke the kiss, but kept his lips close to hers. "So?" he whispered coolly. He breathed hard, his lips brushing lightly against hers with every word he spoke, "What about Aang?"

Her eyes flew open as the question of Aang was revisited. "What?" she gasped.

"What are you going to do about Aang?" he asked calmly. The Firebender tried to maintain his cool, but his heart pounded hard in his chest, like the ocean against a cliff. Her hesitation wasn't helping. She gripped at his shoulders. He leaned his head down on her shoulder as he decided to ask a more direct question. "Is Aang your boyfriend?"

"No. No, he's not..." she started. Zuko sighed a warm breath of relief onto her skin. He smiled, pressing his lips to her neck again. "But—I mean.. I care about him," she admitted, "And I know he wants to be with me." She pressed her lips together. Zuko pulled away from her. Katara grabbed onto him, not letting him get far.

Zuko's quiet reaction made the Waterbender hesitate. Katara argued within herself—she wasn't sure if she should continue. She wanted to be honest with him. She wasn't being honest with anyone right now, she needed to be honest with _someone_.

She bit at her bottom lip. "I... I told him I would be with him after Souzen's comet," she admitted. Zuko's heart wrenched inside of him as jealousy and disappointment tore through his face. His skin started to burn as he turned away from her.

Katara felt herself start to shake. She stared eagerly at his back, willing him to turn around. Zuko glared at the ground below his feet, thinking. There was a long, silent pause between the both of them.

"..Do you **want** to be with him?" Zuko finally asked without turning, "After Souzen's comet?" Katara's chest hurt and tears pierced at her eyes. She knew that they would have to have this conversation some time, she just never assumed it would be so soon.

She couldn't breathe.

She didn't spend a lot of her time thinking about Souzen's comet. She probably should, but she didn't. The Waterbender hadn't thought much about having to choose between Zuko or Aang someday. With the exception of Aang confessing his love to her today, Katara actually spared little thought for the Airbender. Zuko had consumed her mind, whether she was angry with him or getting along with him—all she could think of were his eyes, face, voice, body... She wasn't thinking about the future, the Waterbender had allowed herself to become completely wrapped up in the present time with the Firebender.

But now that she was standing here, clearly being asked to decide between the Avatar and the Fire-nation prince, she didn't know her answer. Because she truly did care about Aang. More than anyone else, probably.

"I.. I don't know, " she whispered truthfully. Tears poured down her cheeks.

Zuko's stomach churned painfully and his face burned with anger. He felt so conflicted about her lack of an answer. He was furious, but in a way, he wanted to comfort her, too. He spun around to face her. The prince reached out, pulling Katara into his arms. Katara froze, squeezing her eyes shut—she was afraid to look up at him. The Waterbender didn't know how angry he was and she didn't want to know. He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear and she winced prematurely, waiting for his cruel, vindictive words to come.

She couldn't blame him after all. The Waterbender would have been furious if he'd given her such an unsure answer about Mai.

Instead, she felt his warm lips press themselves lightly against her skin. She opened her eyes as he leaned back, staring into her wide blue eyes.

"...So long as it's not a yes," he eventually whispered, "..I guess I can live with that." He drew in a difficult, achy breath and swallowed hard. Katara felt her body trembling as more tears rolled down her face. Her legs gave out and Zuko caught her, holding her tightly in his arms.

She shuddered as she cried into his shoulder. Katara almost wished he'd gotten angry instead. She couldn't stand how Zuko was being so understanding. The Firebender winced as her tears soaked through his shirt. He promptly lifted her from the ground, pressing her up against the large trunk of the willow tree.

They kissed intensely, enveloped in the darkness and silence provided by the tree's dangling vines and leaves. Katara's tears rolled down her cheeks as she kissed him. She clung onto him tighter.

She didn't want to lose Zuko, but for some reason when the Firebender asked her to deny Aang—she couldn't.

Right now, it felt like she and Zuko were in their own little world—like they were the only two who exist. But anywhere other than here, they can't be anything together. She couldn't deny that Aang was important to her. He was her best friend, even. She loved talking to him and being around him. He was so positive and sweet. And she truly believed in him.

But she loved talking to the Firebender, too. She loved to hear about the prince's life and childhood—she loved how kindly he spoke of his mother and uncle. She's even grown to see some humor in the prince's tales of his days spent pursuing the Avatar.

She found that Zuko constantly surprised her the more time she spent with him.

The Firebender kissed his way down to her collarbone, gently pulling her shirt the rest of the way open. She sighed, as more tears welled up in her eyes. She dug her fingers into Zuko's broad shoulder blades as she wrapped her legs around his waist tightly. Katara's tears fell.

In reality, Aang was probably a better fit for her—everyone else seemed to think so anyway.

Her heart wrenched inside of her as the conflicted feelings battled within her. Zuko stopped kissing her for a moment and placed one of his hands against her face, catching her tears. Katara gazed up at the Fire-nation prince. His lips smiled halfway, but his eyes showed his true anguish, which only tore her heart up more. She leaned forward, pressing her lips firmly against his again. As he twisted his hand into her hair, Katara thrust her tongue aggressively in his mouth. His skin started to get sticky as the hot summer night drew on and the two benders' kissing got more and more intense.

Zuko would be lying if he said that he didn't feel jealous, hurt and extremely angry with Katara's answer.

Katara had her hand on the back of his head and she pulled his face deeper into her kiss. He drew in a quick, surprised breath. He couldn't help a smile as she kissed him.

In a way, he didn't feel too hopeless—because while she hadn't given him the answer he wanted to hear, she also hadn't confirmed that she wanted to be with the Avatar at summer's end. And for the moment, she was here with him. He pulled away from her, studying her face. The prince removed his own shirt and quickly started to pull Katara's off as well.

He kissed her lightly and smiled a limp smile. She returned his small smile, tears still in her eyes. He firmly pressed himself up against Katara, feeling his skin sticking lightly to hers.

It wasn't ideal, but the Firebender realized that considering everything—it wasn't too horrible of a situation to be in. Because the fact that he was even an option to Katara amazed Zuko still. Her uncertain answer pained his heart, but it also meant that she was still on the fence. The Water-tribe girl shuddered and her breathing grew heavy as he playfully moved his smiling lips all over her dewy skin.

All he needed to do was give her a little pull onto his side.


	20. Chapter 20

_10-27-2010: Finally! It's the next chapter! It kind of goes a little faster than any of my previous chapters and it's a little shorter than most of them, but I really felt like I need to get on with the story and I feel like this chapter has put me in a good place for that. c: Hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks for all of you who have read and commented~_

_Aiko_

_

* * *

_

The day of the comet was only a week away and since her and Zuko's argument, Katara had kept her deal with Zuko and kept her distance from the Avatar as much as she could. Admittedly, she felt bad for doing so—but she figured as long as she was doing whatever this was with Zuko, she couldn't be around Aang. There were many reasons, but mainly she found that she couldn't cope with the guilt.

She still wasn't sure what was going to happen after Souzen's comet, but for now she decided to think about it as little as possible. Katara pounded away at her sleeping bag, watching a dust cloud fly into the air every time she struck it. The group had just moved camp to Ember Island, where Zuko apparently spent summers with his family long ago. He promised them all that they'd be safe here, but Katara still felt nervous—they were hiding from the Fire-nation within their borders after all. She hit the sleeping bag again, harder. Katara had spent the whole morning cleaning all of her camping gear—there was no need for it while they stayed on Ember Island—the mansion owned by the Royal Fire-nation family was more than accommodating. Her blue eyes glanced around the open, empty courtyard finding that it was unusually quiet. It probably had much to do with half of their group going to a nearby Fire-nation town for supplies, and Zuko and Aang were, of course, off training somewhere. Katara sighed and gave her sleeping bag one last hard hit. She rubbed the pain out of her shoulder and set down the wooden beater.

Katara definitely appreciated the quiet, but at the same time, it was a little unnerving. She found that it gave her too much time to think. Normally, Katara would search out Toph or her brother and distract herself that way, but being that they went to town with the others—that plan was quickly snuffed out. So instead, she wandered aimlessly through the large cliff-side home. The Waterbender walked slowly down the corridor, admiring the Fire-nation artwork on the walls. She ran her slender fingers along the hand-painted designs as she strolled down the hallway. She eventually came upon a set of immaculately decorated double doors.

Curious, the Waterbender pulled them open. She squinted into the dark. It appeared to be the grand master bedroom, but with all the curtains drawn, she couldn't really tell. Katara stepped into the darkened room, feeling an overwhelming air come over her.

The Firelord himself had been in this room before. He probably stood in this exact spot she stood in now. She shuddered. At one point in his life, Firelord Ozai was just a man, bringing his family to a summer vacation home, and now he was a monster, obsessed with power and blinded by hate.

Katara's eyes adjusted slightly to the dark and she could make out the shape of an extravagant canopy bed. Delicate sheets gently floated down from the tops of the canopy, surrounding the bed in a beautiful way. Her mind drifted to Zuko's mother as the Waterbender ran her hand over the still soft, untouched silk sheets. She gazed at the perfectly made bed and placed a hand against one of the elaborately carved wooden banisters. Katara had no idea what lady Ursa looked like, but with the way Zuko spoke of her, she imagined a pair of golden eyes and a warm, kind face.

She smiled to herself as Zuko's warm expression made its way into her mind.

Suddenly, a hand clasped tightly over her mouth. Katara tensed up and immediately reached for her water pouch, but her attacker quickly grabbed hold of her arms, twisting them up behind her back. She let out a scream behind the palm that covered her mouth, her heart pounding desperately in her chest. How could she have let her guard down like this? She knew they weren't safe here. Katara's mind ran wild with worry as she thought of Aang and Zuko—she hoped they were okay. The Waterbender writhed against her attacker's grasp.

Katara froze as she felt a warm sigh against her face and a soft nibbling at her ear. She drew in a quick breath and jerked her head away, fear pumping through her veins as she struggled fiercely to get away.

"Now now, Waterbender, there's no need to resist," a familiar, husky voice cooed into her ear.

Her eyes widened. The hand over her mouth and the grasp on her arms loosened. Katara turned to see the scarred face of the Fire-nation prince, whose eyes twinkled with amusement. She shoved him.

"What's wrong with you? You scared the shit out of me!" she yelled. Zuko chuckled. Tears pieced at the backs of her eyes from both fear and relief. She clenched her jaw. "God, Zuko! I thought—I **thought**—!" Katara yelled and she shoved him again, "Don't **ever** do that again!"

"Alright alright, I'm sorry—I just, I couldn't resist," he guffawed, not realizing just how badly he frightened her. Katara frowned at him. He took a quick glance around the room. "What are you doing in here anyway?" he asked lightly.

Katara drew in a quick breath, recognizing that maybe she shouldn't have been wandering so carelessly through the house. "I don't know. I just sort of ended up in here," she explained hastily. She swallowed hard. "Sorry," she apologized quietly. Zuko's eyes were gentle as he stared down at her and he shook his head.

"Don't apologize. This place holds little meaning to me at this point," he muttered, gazing up at the grand bed his parents used to sleep in once upon a time. Katara eyed him as the prince picked up a small framed painting of him and his sister.

"..Where's Aang?" she asked hesitantly.

The prince shrugged, tossing the painting aside. "I might have sent him on some impossible mission to find something that doesn't exist so we'd have some time together while Toph's gone," he revealed, his eyes full of mischief.

Katara frowned, her cheeks growing warm. "Do you think that was a good idea? He's the Avatar, what if something happens to him?" Katara asked, showing genuine concern, "We need him."

Zuko fought back the jealously that prickled underneath his skin. "He'll be fine, Katara," he assured through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure? Maybe we should go find him—" Katara started, heading toward the double doors. The Firebender blocked the Waterbender, pushing her gently back towards the bed. Katara fell back, landing on the soft mattress and ruining the perfectly taut sheets. The Fire-nation prince stood at the foot of the bed, his golden eyes plainly showing his jealously. Katara furrowed her brow. "Stop looking so much into it, Zuko. I'm just worried because he's the Avatar—" she insisted. The Waterbender pushed herself up from the bed, only to be forced back down against the sheets. She felt Zuko's weight on top of her and her pulse started to race. The prince leaned over her, his expression no longer playful.

"Are you really just worried because of the fact he's the Avatar?" he questioned, his nostrils flared. "In my opinion, if the **Avatar** runs into any trouble, I'm sure whatever it is won't be as dangerous as my father. And honestly, if he can't handle that much on his own at this point, we've got worse problems on our hands." Katara gazed, wide-eyed, up at the Firebender that loomed over her. Zuko realized that he wasn't doing too well at keeping his jealously at bay and swallowed hard, drawing in a calming breath. Zuko sat back with a sigh, unpinning the Waterbender. He cursed himself.

The Firebender knew that, realistically, he couldn't expect Katara to stop worrying about the Airbender, but he couldn't also stand to see her constant concern for him.

Katara bit her lip, mulling over the prince's words. She knew that Zuko spoke mostly out of jealously and she hated the idea of leaving Aang to fend for himself—but she had to admit that the Firebender was partly right.

Her eyes found Zuko's again, her face turning a deeper pink. Katara's heart fluttered in her chest as the Fire-nation prince wrapped his arm around the small of her back, pulling Katara's hips up against his own. The Waterbender gasped as he leaned in, kissing her firmly.

After a moment's hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss earnestly. He caressed Katara's body through her thin Fire-nation clothing, their lips moved across one another's. The two benders' panting grew heavy as Zuko's fingers pried their way under the tight red fabric the Waterbender wore as a top. His calloused hands grabbed roughly at her breasts. Katara purred under his touch, lightly kissing him along his neck. Slowly, the Water-tribe girl slid her hands down Zuko's ribcage and past his hip bones. She caressed him between his thighs, softly at first.

The prince drew in a sharp breath in response to her rubbing.

"Katara—" he breathed, arching his back into her quickening grip. Katara smiled. She loved the way he said her name. The two benders kissed passionately, their limbs entwined and their hands roaming free over one another's bodies. Suddenly, Zuko froze, breaking their lustful kiss. Katara opened her eyes, confused by his sudden halt.

"Zuko?" Katara whispered.

"Well well, isn't this interesting?" a snarling voice came from the doorway, "And by interesting, I do mean rather **disgusting**."

Zuko pushed away from Katara and spun around. "Azula!" he gasped angrily.

Azula stood confidently in the doorway, in full armor, looking down her nose at the shirtless Firebender. "I must say Zuzu, while you're normally painfully predictable, I wasn't expecting to see **this** in a million years," Azula noted. She crossed her arms as the corners of her lips turned up into a malicious smile. "Mai won't be happy to hear about this. Especially with all she risked to save you at the Boiling Rock."

Zuko clenched his jaw, his skin growing hot as a pang of guilt ran through him. Sweat drops formed on his forehead as he sat protectively in front of Katara. The Fire-nation princess admired her own nails, her expression impossible to read.

"Relax, Zuzu, I'm not here to fight you. I just thought you'd like to know that we picked up your little Avatar friend, and that he's on his way to the Fire-nation capitol right now," she said nonchalantly.

Katara gasped from behind Zuko. She leaned forward, her blue eyes angry and her dark hair flying all around her bare shoulders. "You're lying!" she screeched. Azula grinned menacingly.

"Oh, I wouldn't lie about something like this," she snarled, taking another step inside the room. Zuko immediately put his fists up, readying for a fight.

"Not another step, Azula," the prince warned.

The Fire-nation princess hesitated in her stepping, glaring at her brother for a moment before her confident smirk returned. "Funny how it's only taken me a couple months to accomplish what took you **three years** to fail at," she baited, "Story of your life though. Right, brother?"

Zuko gritted his teeth, his blood boiling. Katara placed a calming hand on his shoulder, glaring at Azula. "Don't let her get to you," she whispered.

"Hm. Whispering sweet nothings?" Azula growled, "How **lovely**." As soon as the words left the princess's mouth, she stepped forward, swiftly blasting a hot ball of fire at the two benders.

Zuko extinguished her flames, reversing the attack back at her. The hanging sheets of the canopy bed caught on fire and both Zuko and Katara rolled off the bed. The Water-tribe girl uncorked her Waterpound and bended the water from it into a whip, lashing it at Azula.

The princess slid her foot aggressively across the floor, shooting a line of bright blue flames hurling towards Katara. Zuko somersaulted in front of the Waterbender, an orange blast of flames breaking through Azula's. He thrust his fist forward, flames engulfing his hand. The fire projected from his fist and caught the princess off guard, knocking her backwards. She immediately leapt up, filling the room with her blue flames. Katara raised her arms, bending a defensive wall of water, blocking the fire from herself and Zuko. When the steam cleared, Zuko was ready to attack again, but found his sister standing strangely still near the entrance of the bedroom.

As the rest of the fog cleared, the Firebender noticed that Sokka stood behind Azula, holding a dagger to her neck. Toph stepped out from behind Sokka, stomping her foot against the rock floor, trapping Azula's legs. The blind Earthbender pressed her feet against the floor, her gaze concentrated.

"We're good, she's the only one here," Toph announced.

Still panting from their battle, Katara and Zuko relaxed their stances. Azula grunted, jerking around to try and pull her legs free.

"Yeah, it's best if you don't move," Sokka warned, pressing the blade harder against her neck. Azula clenched her jaw as Sokka yanked the princess's arms behind her back. The Water-tribe warrior led his eyes to Katara. "..Where's Aang?"

Azula snickered as Katara and Zuko exchanged a guilty glance. Katara rubbed her arm, feeling ashamed.

"Azula claims that her soldiers captured him," Zuko answered, "She says they're already on their way to the capitol."

"Oh no," Suki breathed, stumbling back. Haru stepped forward, steadying her.

"Oh, yes," the Fire-nation princess jeered, "And did I forget to mention that there'll be a public execution once he arrives?"

Everyone fell silent as the hope they had for ending the war slowly drained from each of their faces. Zuko glanced to Katara apologetically, but she didn't meet his gaze. Her normally luminous blue eyes were empty, staring blankly ahead of her.

"She might be lying, guys," Zuko added, "We should go look for Aang before we do anything else."

Sokka drew in a deep breath."Toph, I need you to metal bend some restraints for her," he muttered through his teeth, trying his best to stay calm, "Haru, Suki—go search the area for Aang." Haru and Suki nodded as the Earthbender headed off to find some scrap metal. Sokka let out the breath in his lungs—he needed to keep a level head. His mind immediately started thinking up rescue plans for saving the Avatar. Toph quickly returned, bending the metal into bindings for Azula's hands and feet.

Azula laughed to herself. Sokka growled at the princess's confidence. He led his blue eyes to his sister, who was normally the one to reassure everyone that things will be fine—not this time.

The insane laughter was starting to grind on Sokka's nerves, and the Water-tribe warrior pressed the dagger harder against Azula's neck, drawing blood. This quickly silenced the Fire-nation princess.

"They aren't going to do anything to Aang. Not as long as **we** have the Firelord's daughter," the Water-tribe teen growled.


	21. Chapter 21

__

_11-2-2010: Soo I wrote this chapter pretty quickly... It's action time! Sorta! XD Hahaha~ Hope this chapter didn't come out too crappily... hmmmm WHATEVER. I like where I'm taking this, so there! XD I finally feel like this story has some sort of direction other than "Zuko and Katara make out constantly". That's all good and I'll get back to that, don't you worry, I just.. uhh.. yeah. XD Thought I'd actually have some other stuff happen. Or something. _

_Hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks to everyone who has read and commented! I love reading your thoughts on what's happening~ Hee hee._

_Aiko_

_

* * *

_

"Personally, I think she's more trouble than she's worth," Zuko sighed, crossing his arms. Sokka carried the struggling Fire-nation princess over his shoulder, heading toward Appa with the rest of the group.

"Yeah, maybe so. But at this point, I think she might be our only chance at saving Aang," Sokka muttered, shifting her back up onto his shoulder. Azula grunted and bit down on her mouth gag. Zuko grimaced as his sister glared up at him. He felt strange as he stared back at her, not lifting a finger to stop these people from holding her captive. The Firebender broke his gaze with Azula and led his eyes to find Katara.

The Waterbender marched forward, her eyes somber. The prince sighed, feeling guilty. If only he hadn't sent Aang away on that stupid mission—none of this would have happened. He tore his eyes away from the Water-tribe girl.

Katara would never forgive him if the Avatar ended up dead at the end of all of this.

Sokka glanced back, noticing Zuko's troubled expression. "Relax, Zuko. We already sent the message out saying that we're holding Princess Azula captive, it won't be long until your fath—I mean, the Firelord, hears of it. And if he doesn't want her harmed, he won't harm Aang," Sokka reassured.

"Hmph. You don't know my father," Zuko mumbled.

Sokka slipped Azula off his shoulder, leaning her up against Appa. He spun around to face Zuko. "You seriously don't think he'd spare Aang for his own daughter?" Sokka questioned. Zuko glanced around at the group. They should know what a monster his father is—he had a constant reminder of it on his face—it shouldn't surprise them too much that the Firelord wouldn't spare the Avatar's life for anyone. But as Zuko looked around at everyone, he could see that small sliver of hope left in their faces. He lowered his eyes to the ground. He couldn't deny them the little hope they had left.

"No, you're right Sokka. Azula's always been my father's favorite," Zuko reassured, "We'll get Aang back." He glanced sideways at Toph, whose face was the only one who fell. She knew he was lying. The Earthbender kept quiet though, turning away from the Firebender.

Sokka nodded. "Good. Then that's our plan. We've got no time to waste," he spoke quickly, climbing up the Air-bison's side. He pulled himself into the saddle. "Hey, Toph, could you Earthbend Azula up here?" Toph wiped away at her eyes and nodded, widening her stance. She stamped her foot hard against the ground, forcing the earth beneath Azula to raise her up high enough for Sokka to pull her into the Air-bison's saddle. Azula tumbled hard into the saddle as Sokka carelessly pulled her in and tossed her aside to make room for the others.

Appa grumbled as each person tugged on his fur, climbing one after the other to get atop the Air-bison. Sokka patted the flying creature's head. "Sorry Appa," he apologized, "I know this is more people than you're used to carrying." The beast groaned in response.

Azula rubbed her cheek against the floor of the wooden saddle, working the gag out of her mouth. The Fire-nation princess felt the fire burning up in her throat and she rolled over, ready to blast it at the first person she set her eyes on. Instead her face was met with an incisive wave of water, slapping her face to the side, the fire from her mouth releasing into the open air. A hand immediately clasped over her mouth and she led her golden eyes to find the Waterbender leaning over her dangerously. Katara's glare was deathly—she definitely hadn't forgotten that Azula was the one who almost took Aang from her once before. Katara would personally make her pay the price if Aang didn't make it through this.

"Try that again and I'll kill you long before we arrive at the capitol," the Waterbender genuinely threatened, replacing the gag. No one argued with that as Sokka made his way to sit atop the bison's head.

Azula huffed, steam releasing from her nostrils.

"Yip yip," Sokka said firmly.

The Air-bison rose into the air with a groan, heading high into the sky.

* * *

The Avatar panted as he climbed the big rocks that surrounded the Royal Fire-nation family's summer home. The sweat dripped off his body, searching between each and every crack in the rocks for the—what did Zuko call it? —the "Fire-breathing dragon lily". Aang never heard of such a flower, but Zuko said if Aang could find one and pluck it from its roots, that his Firebending training would be complete.

The Airbender relished at the idea of his lessons with Zuko coming to an end. While he greatly appreciated Zuko's teachings, the day of the comet was now only a week away—he wanted to spend some time with Katara before his great battle with Ozai. Even though it seemed like she was avoiding him recently. He rubbed the back of his sweaty neck.

He quickly shook the thought from his mind. There was no way she would purposely avoid him. This was the girl who pulled him out of the iceberg and set him on the path to his destiny. They'd been through so much together. She was his best friend. Aang peeked between the cracks of a large boulder he stood upon, finding nothing but bugs and darkness. He frowned. What kind of flower grows in the cracks of rocks? He glanced around at the overwhelmingly vast, rocky island. The Airbender sighed, slumping his shoulders. It would take him forever to find one of these flowers.

He clenched his fists.

Well, of course it wouldn't be easy. If it were so simple, Zuko would've just told him that his training was complete. The Firebending teacher was testing him—Aang had to prove that he had the determination and endurance to complete this task.

The Avatar had to prove that he would never give up, even if something seemed impossible.

He stood on top of the giant rock and faced the shore, taking in the scenery of Ember Island. The water sparkled over the white sand and the breeze from the ocean made the tropical plants and trees sway gently. The Avatar took a deep breath. The past few days, during their training—Zuko had asked many times what he was going to do when he faced Firelord Ozai. The Avatar was unsure until now.

He needed to restore the world's balance. He needed to preserve this place, just as much as he needed to preserve the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. The Avatar couldn't protect his own people from becoming extinct, but he had a chance now to save the ones that remained. And he would, no matter the cost.

Aang climbed down from the jagged boulder, heading toward another cluster of rocks to keep searching.

The Airbender froze as he heard a soft shuffling sound behind him. Taking a few more steps, the shuffling started again and he turned, ready to fight. A small lizard scurried across the dirt path and Aang sighed, relaxing his shoulders.

He spun back around, greeted by a blast of fire coming straight at him. Aang gasped and quickly bent back, dodging the attack. He straightened up, his heart pounding in his chest. Azula stood in his path and behind her stood six Fire-nation soldiers. Adrenaline started to pump through his veins as he prepared himself for a fight.

Azula grinned wickedly at him. "You aren't going to fight me," she started.

"And why wouldn't I?" Aang asked, furrowing his brow.

Azula shrugged slightly, looking up and into the sky. "Well, I would hate to have to bring any **harm** to your Waterbender friend."

Aang's stance waivered.

"You're lying," he called out.

"Yeah. Probably," she admitted, her voice high and her arms behind her back, "Who knows for sure though?"

"Show me. Bring her here," Aang growled.

Azula just stared confidently at the Avatar, saying nothing, her soldiers still standing obediently behind her. "I don't think so," the Fire-nation princess refused, tossing her hair out of her face with a swift movement of her hand. Her lips smiled maliciously. "Look, we can fight if you want and I'll just take you prisoner by force. And then, on top of that, any harm that's done to me or my soldiers, I'll repay ten-fold on your pretty Waterbender's face," she paused, allowing him to fully take in her threat. "**Or** you can just agree to come along and I'll let her go free." Azula's eyes bore into his. "It's your choice, Avatar."

Aang swallowed hard. He clenched his fists, going over the things she said. Was she lying or not? Could he risk her hurting Katara? He couldn't hand himself over to be killed simply because she claims to have Katara. If she has her and he hands himself over, what are the chances that she's really going to let her go anyway? The Airbender growled under his breath. He glared at the Fire-nation princess, gritting his teeth.

He couldn't allow any harm coming to Katara because of his own doubts.

The Airbender relaxed his shoulders. "Fine," he breathed, "I'll come with you." He raised his arms up, surrendering.

"Good choice," Azula snarled, waving the Fire-nation soldiers forward to surround him. They quickly bound his arms and legs and blindfolded him. Another thought ran through the Airbender's mind as they worked on his bindings—the soldiers would most-likely deliver him directly to the Firelord. Aang's chest tightened as fear and determination settled in. To have the opportunity to battle with Ozai before Souzen's comet—scary as it would still be—Aang couldn't picture a better way to put the odds a little more in his favor. He clenched his fists that were bound behind his back. The Avatar had to bank everything on the fact that he'd be able to escape. And then he had to have an extremely flawless plan of attack on top of that. He began to walk blindly, the soldiers pushing and pulling him along.

"Take him to the capitol immediately," Azula ordered. She turned away from the soldiers, smirking down at the Royal Family summer home. "I'll be close behind with the other prisoner," she snarled. The Avatar gasped angrily, but before he could react, Aang felt a hard blow on the back of his skull, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

The Air-bison landed just outside the Royal Fire-nation city.

"Okay guys, we're gonna have to go by foot the rest of the way," Sokka informed. The rest of the group nodded, climbing down. Katara walked ahead of everyone, anxious to get the Avatar back.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Toph asked as she leapt down from the large, flying beast. Zuko was close behind the blind Earthbender, stepping down to the ground. Sokka glanced back at them, Azula over his shoulder once again.

"Well, we've got to get into town safely, try to find out where they're having this public execution—and stop it from happening," the Water-tribe teen replied. Zuko scoffed.

"Yeah, we knew all that—**how** do you expect us to go about doing that though?" the Firebender asked, annoyed, "And what are we going to do with **her**?" The Fire-nation prince pointed a finger at his sister, adding, "We can't just casually carry her around town tied up with a gag in her mouth."

Toph crossed her arms. "Zuko's right. Someone needs to stay behind and guard her," she suggested. Sokka sighed.

"No. We need her to come with us," he insisted, "The Firelord might not believe that we have her."

Everyone paused to think.

"We might have to wait and sneak into town at night fall," Zuko proposed.

An exasperated noise erupted from the Waterbender. "We can't wait around until night fall! What about Aang?" Katara spat. She spun around, glaring at the Firebender. "Oh wait, I forgot—you don't **care** what happens to him!" she screeched, her eyes livid. Zuko's face fell at her accusation as everyone went silent. Sokka looked back and forth between the two benders.

"Did, uh... Did something happen?" Sokka asked hesitantly. Azula's eyes glimmered in vicious delight, her mouth smiling behind her gag.

Katara's anger faltered, watching guilt and sadness take over Zuko's expression.

The Waterbender turned away, her back facing him, and everyone. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just.." she whispered, touching her mother's necklace, "I'm just upset. I'm really worried about Aang. I can't—I can't go through losing someone that I really care about. Not again."

Her brother sympathetically pressed his lips together and nodded. "Don't worry Katara, we're going to get him back," he reassured.

Zuko winced as he listened to the pain in Katara's voice. Things were never clearer than they were now.

Aang would always come first.

The Firebender didn't realize how far back in second place he really was until this exact moment. He wondered if she'd have this strong of a reaction if he were the one missing instead of Aang—probably not. His chest tightened from the negativity that enveloped him.

"Sneaking in at night sounds like the best move," Hakoda interjected, "We flew here on Appa while they came by boat. I'm sure we're ahead of them by a few hours at the very least." The Water-tribe chief led his attention to Sokka. "We need to draw up a detailed plan of what to do and who's doing what," he instructed. The chief's eyes scanned over the rest of the group. "Everyone else, rest if you can. Eat if you need to. We leave once the sun sets fully behind the horizon."

Katara's back was still turned away from the group and she sighed as everyone complied with her father's orders. Anger and frustration began to boil up in her chest. She clenched her fists so tightly that they hurt. The group of young people scattered about the forest clearing, readying themselves for a couple hours sleep. Zuko was the only one remaining, standing a few feet behind the Waterbender. He willed himself to approach her and hold her or comfort her, anything. But his feet were frozen to the lush forest floor.

Her angry words had destoyed every ounce of Zuko's confidence. Was what they had already over? He held his breath, his eyes staring at the back of Katara's head. He resisted the urge to grab her hand and disappear into the forest, far away from everyone. The prince's heart wrenched in his chest and he found himself missing the seclusion and enchantment of their willow tree that made the two of them actually seem right together.

Suddenly, Zuko felt someone grab his arm. He jumped and whirled around, finding Sokka standing behind him. "Hey, we could really use your knowledge of the Fire-nation capitol for navigating the streets," Sokka replied, "Do you mind?"

Prince Zuko hesitated. Sneaking one last unmet glance at the Waterbender, he shook his head, walking away with the Water-tribe teen. "Anything I can do to help," he muttered.

Night fell quickly. Sokka previously explained the plan and everyone's duties and now was going around waking people who decided to sleep before heading out. Zuko couldn't sleep and he sheathed his double swords, pulling his black hood over his face.

The Firebender hadn't thought much about it, but he might be facing his father tonight. The plan was mainly a defensive, rescue-then-escape plan, but the prince had a feeling that it would turn into a fight. Aang wasn't some regular prisoner, after all. His father would have him under constant surveillance, guarded by hundreds, if not thousands, of specially trained Fire-nation soldiers. The Firebender swallowed hard.

Not to mention that all of this is irrelevant if the Firelord chooses to kill Aang instead of hold him prisoner for a night.

"Zuko!"

The prince turned, seeing a fully-cloaked person approaching him. He quickly realized that it was Sokka. "What is it?" Zuko questioned.

"My sister, have you seen her?" Sokka asked, out of breath.

Zuko's heart dropped and he scanned the area. Everyone looked the same in their black clothing. "No," he answered, his skin starting to tingle from worry. Zuko cursed himself. He hadn't kept an eye on the Waterbender like he usually did.

"Shit," Sokka grunted. He furrowed his brow nervously. "Well, she's gone. And so is Azula."


	22. Chapter 22

_Update: 8-27-2011 FINALLY! The next chapter. This was really hard to write, 'cause I wanted to get the dialogue right toward the end... it's not a very long chapter, again, sorry... Hope you enjoy it all the same!_

_Aiko_

* * *

The small group plunged into a state of chaos. Sokka seemed to be everywhere at once, Hakoda had disappeared long ago with Haru and the Duke. Zuko scrambled his way around the perimeter of the clearing, the most worried of them all. _"How could I let this happen?"_ he thought angrily to himself, _"I should've kept a closer eye on Katara—Azula, too."_ He coughed, attempting to ease the painful aching in his chest. It accomplished nothing.

Ignoring the tight pain in his chest, the Firebender pinched the bridge of his nose. _"I never should've sent Aang away. This is all my fault."_

"**Damn**! I don't know how Azula managed to sneak away in the few minutes I was asleep," Toph griped as she moved around, deciphering the different vibrations of the earth, "It's like she was **waiting** for me to nod off." She chewed the inside of her cheek as she circled the area with Zuko.

The Firebender gave little response as he scrutinized each set of footprints that might be his sister's or Katara's. It was difficult to tell whose were whose, being that there were so many tracks from all the erratic running about. Growing frustrated, he gritted his teeth and kicked up a dust cloud of dirt. The fine sand danced around in the wind. _"C'mon, think! Where would she go? Where would she take her?"_ Zuko thought angrily to himself.

Then it donned on him. He didn't need to follow any footprints to figure out where Azula was headed—there was only be one place she'd go.

Zuko bolted into the forest without further hesitation.

"H-Hey!" Toph called after him, "Zuko!"

The pale Firebender ran swiftly through the dense bushes and trees. He could hear the distant sounds of Toph calling his name as he drove further and further into the forest. The prince unsheathed his double swords, slashing away the hanging branches that blocked his way. If Azula had taken the Waterbender, she'd be headed straight for the Fire-nation palace. And while that was already dangerous enough, his crazed sister was the only person who knew that Katara and him were lovers. She knew the Waterbender was someone he cared for and he didn't even want to think about what would be in store for her because of that.

"Zuko!" Toph screeched as she tackled him. Lost in his thoughts, the Firebender was easily knocked off balance. He landed hard against the forest floor as his double swords clattered away from his grip. He turned over just as Toph grabbed hold of his cloak, pulling him up towards her. "What the hell are you doing?" she yelled into his face, breathing hard.

"Katara—" Zuko replied, slightly dazed from hitting his head, "I know where Azula is taking her. She's headed toward the Fire-nation palace." Toph's pale, unseeing eyes widened.

"Did you maybe want to share this information with anyone before running off?" the Earthbender grimaced, shoving him down. He laid there in the dirt and dead forest foliage, staring into the dark.

"..I couldn't wait for you guys to sit around and plan what we're gonna do—" he started.

"Fine—but you could've at least said something to **me** instead of just panicking and racing off into the forest like some lunatic!" Toph scolded, standing over him. "I care about Katara, too, you know, but panicking won't help." Zuko sat up slowly. Fallen leaves and dried grass were tangled in his jet black hair. His heart ached as he processed Toph's words.

"I... I don't **care** about Katara," he grumbled. Zuko straightened up, trying to sound as indifferent as possible, "If Azula's managed to take Katara, I'd bet anything that it's because of her own recklessness." He drew in a shaky breath, trying to compose himself. He didn't realize how out of breath he was. "..I'm only trying so hard to track my sister down because she'll most likely lead us to where Aang is." The prince kept his eyes away from the Earthbender, not that it mattered or helped him sound more convincing. "If we happen to save Katara in the mean time—fine. Sokka will be happy. It doesn't matter to me either way."

"You don't have to be that way," Toph furrowed her brow as she gazed into nothingness, "I know you're really worried about her."

"Hardly," he swiftly denied, standing upright. He brushed himself off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up to Azula and get Aang back—"

"You're a terrible liar, Zuko," Toph interrupted firmly. Zuko's heart stopped. The two benders were silent. "I... I know about the two of you," Toph muttered quietly. Zuko swallowed hard. The Earthbender gazed blindly up at him, her pale green eyes the only thing visible through her hooded cloak. His heart pounded in his chest. "..Your hearts go crazy around each other," she whispered. His heart was definitely going crazy right now. To hear Toph say that Katara's heart reacted to him when he was around—for a moment, the prince had forgotten how to speak. Slowly, Toph stepped up to him and brought her hand up, resting it over his heart.

"...You can hide it from everyone else, but you can't hide it from me," she replied quietly, her eyes closed as her fingers and toes felt his heart pounding inside of his chest. She opened her pale green eyes, staring blankly at him. "I wasn't going to ever say anything, because well, if you guys want to hide it, then that's your choice. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be together 'cause I can't see it ending well, but..." Toph drew in a breath and continued, knowing how he felt all too well, "..I also know that you can't help who you love."

With those words, the walls and the facade Zuko had put up for so long started to break. "I-I—" the Firebender choked out. He swallowed hard as he turned away from the Earthbender's gaze and gentle touch. The pain of both love and guilt weighed down on him and he could feel himself collapsing underneath it all. He didn't deserve the chance to admit his feelings about Katara out loud. "R-Really, it's not that. I just... have to get her back. I-I have to get **Aang** back. It's my fault that he— "

"**God**, Zuko! Don't be so stupid!" Toph bellowed, startling the Firebender, "You really think it's your fault? You really think you can lie to me about your feelings for Katara?"

"You don't understand—" Zuko stammered, taken aback by her sudden yelling.

"Fine, whatever. You're not gonna admit to me that you're in love with Katara," Toph snapped, "But how in the hell would it be **your** fault that Aang's been captured?"

A long silence followed the blind bandit's question. "..You would all hate me again if I told you," Zuko mumbled.

"Try me," Toph snorted, folding her arms over her chest.

Zuko pressed his lips together, mulling over whether or not to come clean. "Well... Um.. When you all went to the marketplace back on Ember Island, I..." he started. His eyes looked over the blind girl's face and he could feel himself losing his nerve. "T-There's no time for this right now." The prince spun around on his heel, but Toph grabbed the sleeve of his cloak before he got far.

"Then stop beatin' around the bush and just tell me what happened, damn it," she demanded. Zuko's chest ached as fear of being rejected settled down in the pit of his stomach. The blind Earthbender released the Fire-nation prince, her voice soft once again, "Zuko, just tell me." Zuko dropped his eyes to the ground. Toph nudged him a little. "It's just me. It's Toph."

"I won't hate you," she promised.

Zuko bit his lip. _"You say that now,"_ the prince thought negatively to himself. Aside from Katara, Toph was the person he related to and cared about the most. She was the type of sister he'd always wished Azula could be. He didn't want to lose that connection because of his stupid selfishness. But he also felt like he needed to tell someone about what happened or he would explode. "I—Katara and I.. I mean—" the prince stuttered, worrying about the Earthbender's reaction. "After training on Ember Island, I sent Aang off to find something I knew he'd never find." Zuko drew in another shaky breath. Toph stared at him, confused. He swallowed hard. "I just wanted to get rid of him for awhile so I could spend some alone time with Katara while you were all gone," he explained, his voice guilt-ridden. "She.. **Katara** warned me that we should go get him before something bad happened, but I didn't listen to her. Then Azula found him and captured him."

Zuko lowered his head. "If I just didn't send him away.. If I would've listened to her, none of this would've happened."

Toph's silence was deafening , which only fueled the fear inside of Zuko, but he couldn't stop talking now.

"The worst part is, in all honesty, deep down, I sort of didn't want him to come back," he admitted, keeping his eyes away from Toph. "I mean, I don't hate Aang—I'm just... I'm so jealous of the two of them together—of him. I've had to fight my whole life to be something important, to be someone loved. He's the Avatar, so he was immediately important and loved the world over. I've only come across a couple people in my life who cared about me and made me feel like something more than some speck of dust—and I've lost them all."

"Once I realized how I felt about her.. I didn't want to lose her," Zuko whispered, his heart breaking, "Especially not to him."

He drew in a much needed breath, praying that Toph would say something. After being met with nothing more than silence, he continued, "...I wouldn't blame you if you said you hated me. I never should've come here in the first place. I should've never brought myself into this group. I thought I could at least **help** the Avatar bring peace to the world, but what was I thinking? All I do, all I've ever done, is **ruin** everything." For the first time in a long time, tears were brimming his eyes. His jaw hurt as he clenched his teeth to try and stop the tears. The prince left his father's side to join Aang and his efforts to bring balance to the world. Zuko thought it was the right thing to do—but now, he'd only succeeded in breaking up this family too. He had managed to drive away every decent person in his life. Toph, Sokka, and everyone else will abandon him too once Toph returns to camp and tells them all that he's done. And the worst part is that he doesn't have anyone to blame for that besides himself. It's his own fault that things have happened the way they have.

His heart pounded hard inside his chest. The Firebender rubbed at his wet eyes. He hadn't learned a thing through the years. The prince had actually succeeded and developed a good, trusted friendship with the Avatar—and now look what he's done. He's betrayed his friend in every way possible. It was Zuko's fault Aang was captured and to top it off, he was sleeping with the girl the Avatar loved behind his back. Zuko's guilt consumed him. He shuddered as he realized just how horrible of a person he was. Even though he didn't intend to fall in love with the Waterbender, he didn't stop himself from pursuing her, either. And he knew that if she were here and willing, he would continue to pursue her. Zuko hung his head. He'd completely failed him as his friend and his Firebending master.

The Fire-nation prince's heart beat painfully inside of him as another thought donned on him. If Aang failed to make it out of this alive, the prince will not have only betrayed the Avatar with his careless actions, but the whole world.

Tears prickled at the backs of his eyes once again as the Firebender fell to his knees, finally crumbling beneath the weight of his guilt. Toph hesitated before kneeling down beside him.

"..Obviously, I can't say I'm not mad at you," Toph finally said, "But, even though you've said all you've said, I don't hate you for it. You made a really really really **really** stupid, selfish mistake." Zuko winced with every "really" she repeated. "And well, while I really love Aang as my friend, I don't entirely blame you for feeling that way about him." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're not perfect, Zuko," Toph stated, "None of us are. Not even Aang. The point is, and the only thing any of us can do, is try to be better. Of course you're going to slip up sometimes."

"What happened wasn't your fault," she affirmed. Zuko shuddered with her last words. While Toph rubbed his arm, she suddenly realized how much she sounded like Katara. She quickly pulled her hand away. The Earthbender could feel her face growing uncomfortably warm and she glanced away from the Fire-nation prince.

"Besides," Toph scoffed, quickly standing and crossing her arms, "In all honesty, Aang should've been able to take Azula or at least get away from her if he's been training so hard for his final fight with the Firelord."

Zuko gave a limp smile to his friend.

Toph grinned at the Firebender. "So, if you're done being all... **you**, then lead the way to the palace, sparky."


	23. Chapter 23

_Update: 10/09/2011_

Hey guys, next chapter is here~ Hope you enjoy it!33

Aiko

* * *

Sokka's head pounded loudly against his temples, his stomach turning violently inside of him. Usually he could approach things calmly and logically, but his only sister was gone, kidnapped by a crazy and vicious Fire-nation princess. The Water-tribe warrior thought this was enough to worry him to death, but he'd just discovered that now Toph was now missing—and so was his ex-enemy, prince Zuko. He massaged his skull, feeling dizzy.

The Water-tribe native despised the fact that his gut was telling him Zuko could have possibly taken the blind Earthbender after weeks of winning over their trust. He swallowed hard. That's right—weeks. He had chased the group around for a good year and had searched the world for the Avatar for years before that, yet it only took a couple weeks for him to gain their trust? Sokka shook his head, shaking away his negative thoughts. There was no way the prince had kidnapped Toph. He knew how close the Earthbender and Firebender were—they were friends. There definitely had to be a logical explanation for their disappearance. Still, Sokka would be lying to himself if he said there wasn't _some_ doubt prodding at his confidence in the Firebender.

A hand softly touched the Water-tribe native on the shoulder and he spun on his heel—his guard up.

Suki stood behind him with a worried look shining through her dark gray eyes. "Sokka," she spoke softly. The Kyoshi warrior pursed her lips, hesitating before continuing carefully, "I know you might hate to hear this, but we should move forward with our plans. We need to save Aang." Sokka knew she was right, but he still found himself scowling at his girlfriend. His mind drifted back and forth from his sister to a certain blind Earthbender. Suki pulled her hand away, pushing a piece of her short brown hair behind her ear. "Haru said that we should scour the city and find out where the public execution is supposed to be held—" she paused, watching Sokka's face carefully, "I think it's a good idea." The Water-tribe warrior rolled his eyes and huffed in response. _"Well, if __**Haru**__ said..." _Sokka thought sarcastically to himself. He folded his arms across his chest.

Sokka chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling irritated. He never noticed before now, but he really didn't like how casually Haru's name rolled off of Suki's tongue.

Suki stepped forward, touching her forehead gently to his chest before gazing up at him. "I know you're worried about Katara and Zuko," she paused and cleared her throat, "And Toph." The two teens felt themselves tense up with the mention of the small Earthbender. The Kyoshi warrior quickly composed herself, "But making sure we stop the execution from happening is top priority. We'll worry about the others once Aang is safe."

The Water-tribe native looked down at the Kyoshi Island girl he loved. "I know, I **know**," he grumbled. He pulled Suki into an embrace, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. After a moment of contemplating, Sokka leaned back, kissing her on the forehead. "Okay. Get everyone together, we're going to go forward with the original plan—get Aang back. Then we'll figure out what happened to Katara, Zuko, and Toph," Sokka decided. She nodded to him and immediately set off to gather the remaining members of their group. Sokka's heart was screaming obscenities at him, but his head knew that this was the more logical choice. The Water-tribe warrior couldn't allow his decisions to be influenced by his emotions. The day of the comet was only a short five days away at this point and they needed Aang back to even stand a chance against Firelord Ozai.

In a few brief hours, the troop moved quickly through the forest and headed stealthily into the Fire-nation capitol, moving like shadows dancing in the night. It wasn't very difficult to find out where the execution was to be held, posters and signs were posted everywhere. Still, they didn't want to be discovered, so the small group of six stuck to the shadows and dark alleys as they continued towards the main square of the elaborate royal city. Their crusade came to a halt as they reached a divide in the back roads, but after a quick glance at a map, Hakoda instructed the teens that they should split up. "Okay Sokka—you, Suki and Haru take this side of the square and the Duke, Teo and I will take the other side," he whispered in an authoritative tone, drawing a line with his finger along the map to show him which road to take. Sokka paid close attention and nodded in agreement.

He was used to running the show as far as strategies were concerned, but the Water-tribe native didn't mind handing the reigns over to his dad. Sokka trusted Hakoda's judgment more than his own at times and being that he was having a hard time keeping a clear head at this point in time, it was probably best that he follow his father's orders. Although, Sokka couldn't help but take notice of the fact that his father had paired him up with the two stronger warriors while he paired himself with the two younger children—one of them wheelchair bound. Sokka huffed and tried his best not to be offended by his father's choice.

"Sokka," Suki whispered loudly, nudging him, "Come on, we need to get moving. It'll be daybreak soon."

"Right," Sokka agreed, "Follow me." He took off down the alleyway his father instructed him to. The Water-tribe native dashed down the dark corridor, occasionally glancing back to Haru and Suki to make sure they were keeping up with him. He frowned a bit as he noticed how close they were running next to each other, but turning another quick corner, he dismissed his paranoia. Sokka wasn't the jealous type. Although now that he was thinking about it, he realized how often Haru seemed to come up in his conversations with Suki recently.

Then a small giggle emerged from behind him. And Sokka knew that giggle. It was cute, flirty and coy and usually only drawn out of the Kyoshi warrior by Sokka.

Needless to say, this stopped him in his tracks. Sokka spun around to face the other two warriors. Haru and Suki stopped as they caught up with Sokka, the smiles fading from their faces.

"What?" Suki questioned in a whisper, her eyes finally meeting Sokka's, "Why did we stop?" Sokka looked back and forth between Haru and Suki, his eyes notably suspicious. Without a word, Sokka reached down and took the Kyoshi warrior's hand in his. He shot a quick glare at the mustached Earthbender and continued on quickly, dragging Suki along behind him. "Sokka!" Suki whispered, tugging on her arm, "Sokka, slow down!" He pulled harder on her hand, creating a gaping distance between them and Haru as he sprinted down the dark alley. Suki glanced back as darkness swallowed up Haru. "Sokka! We're losing Haru! Sokka! Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Sokka gritted his teeth and released her hand angrily, spinning around.

"Is something going on between you and Haru?" he asked bluntly. Her deep gray eyes blinked several times.

"E-Excuse me?" she gasped. Her face looked strange as she spoke, a mixture of shock, insult and anger coming through her features. Suki shook all over. "Sokka are you crazy? You—of **all** people—have no right to accuse me of anything when you and Toph—"

Haru finally caught up to them, panting.

"When what? When Toph kissed **me**?" Sokka bellowed, cutting her off. Both Suki and Haru hushed him.

"Geez, Sokka! What is your problem? Do you want to let the whole Fire-nation know our location?" Suki whispered crossly, glancing around cautiously. The Earthbender teen had placed a calming hand on Suki's shoulder and was moving his thumb in slow circles over her exposed skin. Sokka flinched and could feel his anger boiling over. "We'll talk about this later, Sokka," she said softly, seemingly used to the mustached teen's touch. Sokka stepped forward, pushing Haru's hand away from his girlfriend's flesh. The Earthbender allowed his hand to fall away from the Kyoshi warrior, but did not move away from her.

Sokka glared into Haru's face, a low, guttural noise rumbling in his throat. Sokka knew that this was an inappropriate time to talk about this, but the Water-tribe warrior felt as though he'd suddenly been slapped across the face and his anger was bubbling under his skin. How long had he been oblivious to how the two of them interacted? "No, let's talk about this now," Sokka insisted stubbornly. Suki and Haru exchanged a worried glance.

"S-Sokka, now's really not the time," she whispered, her voice weaker than before.

"Just tell me nothing's going on and we'll keep going," Sokka demanded. Suki swallowed hard.

"Look Sokka, Toph kissed you and then you two started to disappear together all the time—" Suki continued quietly. "What was I supposed to think?"

"What? What do you mean we "disappear together" all the time?" Sokka screeched, insulted. "She's actually been **avoiding** me, and if we do manage to get the chance to hang out together, that's **all**we're doing! I always tell you to come with me!"

"Oh, yeah, that's what I want to do—hang out with the brat who kissed my boyfriend right in front of me!" Suki argued back, raising her voice to match Sokka's. Haru tried, unsuccessfully, to shush them. "What about the night you made that stupid "Sokka juice"? I was looking all over for you, but you were gone and so was Toph. I'm not an **idiot**, Sokka," she accused. Haru gulped, glancing cautiously to Suki. Sokka's body trembled as her accusations cut through him.

"Hey, uh, guys, we really should try to keep it dow—" Haru started quietly.

"Shut it, Haru!" they yelled simultaneously at the mustached Earthbender.

Sokka panted hard and his face grew hot with anger as he turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "What are you talking about, Suki!" he growled. Sokka had never been unfaithful to the Kyoshi warrior—even if he _did_ have some feelings for the young, blind Earthbender—Sokka would never act on them while he was with Suki. Sokka furrowed his brow as his blue eyes ignited with anger. "You want to know where I was when I was with Toph that night? She was helping me look for **you**!" he declared. He froze as Suki drew in a breath, holding it in her lungs. Sokka's heart sunk. In his drunk-like state, he'd never given it a second thought. Toph could have easily found Suki. The Kyoshi warrior's face grew warm as she watched Sokka working things out in his head. She shrunk back against the male Earthbender.

"You..." Sokka's voice broke as his eyes flicked back and forth between Haru and Suki. "Toph could see you. She knew I was looking for you and she didn't want me to find you together." Suddenly, Sokka felt sick to his stomach, light-headed, angry and humiliated all at once. It was suddenly clear why Toph confessed to him a couple days later, telling him that she was better for him than Suki. She was protecting Suki—no she was protecting _him_from getting hurt. Sokka could feel his body starting to shake uncontrollably. "You two—" he glared at Suki, "—since then?" The Kyoshi Island girl's eyes were ridden with guilt.

"I... I was looking for you, and I couldn't find you," she mumbled, "A-And I was all.. **drunk**off your stupid juice."

"So because you couldn't find me, you thought that you—you.. should just go and do whatever you did with **Haru**?" Sokka screeched, stepping aggressively toward the girl. A thousand images were running through his mind, fueling his anger and breaking his heart simultaneously. Haru took a slow step forward, settling in front of Suki. He stood firmly between the Water-tribe native and Kyoshi warrior.

"Don't act like you weren't off doing the same with Toph," Suki accused from behind Haru. Sokka couldn't take it anymore and felt himself boil over.

"Goddamnit Suki! Toph and I have never done **anything**!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the city's streets. He reached past Haru, grabbing her arm. "How could you do this? I rescued you from the Boiling Rock prison and we've been through so much—!"

Suddenly Sokka felt himself get shoved away from Suki—hard—and before he knew it, he had lunged forward and tackled the male Earthbender to the ground. The two teens rolled around the floor, grunting as they threw punches at one another. Suki yanked on Sokka's shirt, trying to break up the brawl.

"Stop it you guys!" Suki pleaded.

Haru's fist connected with Sokka's jaw, but the Water-tribe native felt nothing, his adrenaline pumping fiercely through his veins. "I thought we were friends!" Sokka growled, his fist punching repeatedly at the Earthbender's sides.

"What made you think that?" Haru argued, tossing Sokka off of him. Sokka somersaulted into a stance, exchanging glares with Haru. Suki had come to the Earthbender's side immediately, staring worriedly up at him. Sokka's heart wrenched inside his chest as he watched her fingers run soothingly along his chest. Suddenly he could feel the pain in his jaw and he rubbed his chin, attempting to rub away the pain of everything.

"I think I'll continue on by myself," Sokka mumbled. Suki tore her eyes away from Haru, directing her worried gaze at Sokka.

"Sokka, I understand that you're upset, but we... still..." she found herself unable to finish her sentence. Sokka's face was burning and his eyes wet. Her own eyes welled up with tears at the sight of the heart-broken Water-tribe warrior.

"We still need to save Aang, Sokka," Haru finished for Suki.

Sokka turned away from them. "I'm still going to. I'm just not going with either of you," Sokka seethed.

Silence lingered between the three teens.

"I-I'm sorry, Sokka," Suki said softly, tears falling from her eyes.

Sokka said nothing, trudging away from the two teens.


	24. Chapter 24

_05-01-2012: Wahh sorry my updates are so slow! I'll really try and finish these last few chapters up quickly... Anyway, hope you enjoy it!_

Aiko

* * *

Sokka crouched down in the shadows at the end of the main square, his heart still aching. He struggled to keep his concentration off of Suki, off of all the things they'd been through together. A group of Fire-nation citizens passed by and he tugged down on his hood, covering his face. Taking a quick glance around, there was already a large crowd gathering. Fire-nation soldiers have been here well before dawn, surrounding the center stage. The Water-tribe warrior's eyes shot around at the men, women, children—_families_—that stood around, ready to watch the Avatar's execution. Sokka frowned at the disturbed, corrupt nation. It raised a massive, negative question inside of him.

Even if they managed to defeat the Firelord, how would peace ever be gained with people like this who are so willing to follow their leader's hate? It's been 100 years of propaganda—generations have grown up on the idea that the Avatar is the real enemy—and Sokka found himself suddenly thinking of Zuko. He couldn't imagine the difficulty of having to take over and attempt to repair a nation like this one.

Sokka shook his negative feelings out of his mind, telling himself that if he could manage to save Aang, together with Zuko, he would know how to save all of these people. His gaze shot up to the window of an old building where Suki, Haru and him were supposed to be readying themselves to strike. Haru and Suki would be up there alone now and Sokka's chest ached as his mind went wild with what they were doing to pass the time.

Sokka glanced across the square, his eyes meeting another cloaked man—his father. The troubled, heartbroken Water-tribe warrior yearned to go to his father, to seek his advice, but he knew his father would be angry that he was bringing up such a topic at such an inappropriate time. Aside from that, two cloaked, dark-skinned foreigners standing together might look suspicious.

His blue eyes darted back to the guards surrounding the stage. He reminded himself that they would all have to do this quickly—there was no room for error.

Suddenly, the sound of bells rang loudly in his ears. He drew in a deep breath. There would be a little less than an hour until Aang arrived.

Within a matter of minutes, Fire-nation citizens flooded the streets and alleyways, coming from everywhere and cramming their way into the already crowded main square. Sokka swallowed hard, making sure he held a position that allowed him keep an eye on his father.

Hakoda averted his gaze to the building across the square, to where Haru, Suki, and Sokka were all supposed to be. Sokka cursed himself. He forgot that his father wouldn't be looking for him on the street. The Water-Tribe native would just have to improvise once he saw his father give Suki and Haru the signal.

Suddenly, Sokka could hear the sound of drums approaching from a distance. He looked around, his heart beat picking up. _"They're already bringing him here? That can't be right—it's happening too quickly,"_ he thought hastily to himself. The chattering of Fire-nation citizens died down to an eerie silence as the sound of the drums drew closer.

In an instance, Sokka was moving across the square to meet up with Hakoda. It was a risk that his father might not ultimately approve of, but he couldn't allow Hakoda to feel the pressure of a change in strategies alone. Sokka knew he would have to be inconspicuous about it, so he kept to the perimeter of the crowd, ducking between people slowly as he made his way toward his father.

Just as the beating drums reached the edge of the square, there was a loud explosion. Instantly, the crowd of Fire-nation people ran in every direction, screaming and carrying their crying children away from the blast. Sokka had fallen to the cobble stone street, shaken from the blast. He jumped back up, covering his mouth from the smoke. His hearing had left him but was quickly returning as he headed away from the debris raining down from the sky. Sokka froze as his hearing grew louder and he regained his bearings. His head snapped back, seeing the building where Suki and Haru were staked out, on fire and crumbling to the ground.

Before he could react, Sokka heard the faint sound of someone calling his name. He followed the voice as best as he could. His blue eyes quickly scanned the chaos, finding his father sprinting toward the smoking building.

"Dad!" the Water-tribe teen called out, running after him. He clenched his jaw in pain and anger. This whole thing was a trap. In hindsight, it seemed out of character to hold a public execution of the Avatar where the Firelord would not be present to watch or make a victorious speech. Sokka growled. The Firelord knew that they would come to save Aang. He coughed as the smoke thickened. "Dad!" he choked out into the black air.

Suddenly the Water-tribe native was surrounded by a wall of fire closing in on him. He covered himself up as best as he could with his cloak. After it caught aflame, he tossed it off his shoulders, finding himself surrounded by four Fire-nation soldiers. Sokka didn't think. He drew his sword from the scabbard and charged his first target.

In his head, he knew there wasn't a chance that he'd defeat four Firebenders with a sword no matter his skill level, but he would die honorably, taking as many soldiers down with him. He stabbed through the stomach of the first soldier he'd run up on and immediately rolled out of the way of another fire blast coming from the left. His only chance would be to keep the fight close range. He coughed as the smoke filled his lungs. The dark skinned Water-tribe warrior sliced open the next closest soldier, when he caught sight of the stage out of the corner of his eye.

A small-framed boy with blue arrow tattoos stood in the center of the stage. There was a burlap sack tied over his head, his arms tied to a stake. The stage was blazing with flames. As Sokka found himself distracted by Aang's impending doom, a fireball caught fire to his arm band. He screeched in pain, dropping his meteorite sword. He tore the burning material from his arm, his flesh going with it. Sokka fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Aang!" Sokka called out. He could barely see through all the smoke and pain at this point. Sokka took a deep breath and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He was biting his lip, trying to muster the strength in his badly burnt arm to lift the heavy sword. He screamed in agony as a Fire-nation steel boot landed on his forearm, crushing his bones and burnt flesh. Sokka peered through the smoke at the soldier looming over him before he blacked out from the pain.

_

"It's strange," the prince stated, crouched in the dim shadows of the Fire-nation palace.

"What is?" Toph asked quietly.

" There's a lot less guards than usual," Zuko mentioned.

"They're probably all at the execution," she said slowly, swallowing hard, "To make sure the job gets done."

A guilty conscience hung heavily over Zuko's mind. "You can still head back to help them," he suggested quietly and earnestly, "I'm sure they could use a strong Earthbender like you." Toph mulled over the idea, a certain Water-tribe boy crossing her mind.

"No. I agreed to come with you," Toph stated.

"There's hardly any soldiers here," Zuko whispered, glancing around, "I can handle it."

"Look here Sparky," the blind Earthbender grunted, shaking her finger in his face, "I'm sure the Dai Li are still around here somewhere—you need me more than Sokka and them. So shut up already and let's get going."

Zuko nodded, smiling beneath his hood. Without another word, the prince dashed down a small back way of the palace, heading toward one of the many secret entrances. He stopped, allowing a guard to pass them, unseen. Kneeling down, the Firebender wedged a stone out of the wall. Behind the stone was a wooden crank and as Zuko turned it, a small door in the wall slid open. "Quick," Zuko whispered, ushering Toph into the passageway. He replaced the stone and followed behind her, cranking the door shut on the other side.

They stood still for a moment in the pitch dark corridor within the palace, but Zuko knew the main house like the back of his hand, so light was unnecessary. "Okay, how many guards are there on this floor?" Zuko whispered.

"..I don't know. The floors are wooden," Toph murmured. She ran her barefoot across the smooth hardwood floor, seeing nothing but darkness. Zuko quickly turned toward the voice of the Earthbender. He knew the palace like the back of his hand, alright. He sighed at himself.

"Shit. I hadn't thought about that," he cursed quietly. They paused for a moment, considering their situation.

"Maybe I should just head to the main square after all—I'll be no use to you if I can't see," Toph suggested grudgingly. Zuko knew it was the only option. If it came down to a fight, she'd be a sitting turtle duck. He nodded and turned to crank the secret door open. He helped the Earthbender into the small passageway.

"Be careful," he whispered, "Just avoid the guards on the street and save your energy for the fight at the main square. You'll need it."

"Okay," Toph agreed, ducking into the secret doorway, "You be careful, too."

"...Toph?" Zuko said hesitantly. The Earthbender stopped, directing her gaze in his direction. "Thanks. For listening to me earlier and still offering to come with me," he added, feeling somewhat bashful. Suddenly the small girl's arms were wrapped around him, squeezing his shoulders fondly.

"Anytime, Sparky," she whispered, socking him in the arm, "Now go get Katara back from your crazy sister." With that, Toph disappeared through the secret door. Zuko cranked the door shut behind her before heading down the corridor slowly. He stopped once he heard footsteps. The prince pressed up against the wall so that he was hidden around a dark corner, listening to the clicking of the footsteps getting closer. Just as the footsteps were passing him, he snatched hold of the guard, twisting their arm up behind their back. He quickly shoved them to the ground and they grunted as they came in contact with it. Zuko still couldn't see, but could tell from the weight and sound of the voice that it must be a female guard.

The guard writhed beneath his hold. "Don't move or I'll break your arm," he threatened, applying pressure to indicate his seriousness. The female guard went still.

"...Z-Zuko?" spoke the familiar voice of the Waterbender he'd come here for. He immediately released his hold and ignited a flame in the palm of his hand, illuminating the wide-eyed gaze of the Water-tribe girl as she pulled off her helmet. Before she could say anything, he had pulled her to him, pressing his lips hard against hers. After a moment of bewilderment, Katara was returning the passionate kiss, clutching to his cloak as his grip around her tightened. Pulling back, the two benders breathed heavily into each other's space. Zuko kept his hands on her, fearing that if he let her go she'd disappear again.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Zuko whispered hastily, still reeling in disbelief that the Waterbender sat here before him, "How did you escape from Azula?"

Katara didn't answer right away. "I'm fine," she answered first. "But.. as far as Azula—she technically escaped from **me**."

Zuko was confused by that statement. "What? What do you mean?" he questioned.

"W-Well.. I was just.." she explained slowly, her voice getting shaky, "I was so worried earlier, that I just.. I thought I should just take the initiative and head to the palace myself. But then I figured if I was going to negotiate with Ozai, I would need Azula so I brought her with me. Turned out to be a bad decision. She broke away from me and now I don't know where she is."

Zuko's inner fire started to burn under his skin at the careless risk she'd taken, his mind running wild with the many alternative outcomes that could have occured. Although as angry as he was, he wanted to laugh at her poorly thought out plan to bring Azula here and get Aang back by negotiating with his father. As he stared down at her ashamed expression, the Firebender was certainly glad she never made it to the Firelord. The prince embraced the Waterbender tightly. "Idiot," he mumbled lovingly.

He could hear her breath catch in her throat. "I-I know. I'm sorry," she choked out, starting to cry, "I-I just didn't know what to do and I just.. I just wanted.." He hushed her, pulling back to rub her cheeks dry with his fingers.

"I don't care. I'm just glad you're okay," he whispered. "I thought..." he let his sentence fade. He couldn't put into words what he thought had happened. So instead he asked, "Why didn't you get me? I would've helped you." Katara shuddered as the quiet sobs started up again. Zuko couldn't bear the sound and immediately pressed his lips to hers, calming her hysteria hiccups. Her crying was always his weakness—ever since Ba Sing Se. He held her face in his hands as he moved his lips gently across hers. She clung to him, allowing his lips to soothe her and his body to warm hers. She pulled away once she felt calm, resting her head in the nape of his neck.

"Honestly, I just.. acted without thinking. And.. I didn't ask for your help because.. I-I thought that you were mad at me with how I acted before, I mean, I was mad at myself. I can't believe I said that to you—" she whispered.

He ran his fingers threw the ends of her hair, holding her against him. He took a deep breath, feeling even more relieved to know that she wasn't angry at him. "I was never mad at you... You had every right to say that to me, it's my fault that this happened. I was being selfish and I'm sorry I've gotten Aang into this mess."

"It's just as much my fault as it is yours," Katara admitted.

They held onto each other another moment, listening to each other's beating hearts.

The Fire-nation prince swallowed hard. "So, did you find out where they're keeping Aang? Or did they already.." Zuko let his voice trail off, tightening his embrace.

"I don't know. I haven't found out anything about him yet," Katara murmured, pressing her face into his shoulder. Zuko could feel her heart start to pound and her shoulders shake. He caressed her back, trying to soothe her. His own heart started to pound at the thought of Aang's execution.

"We'll find him," Zuko promised, "Together."


	25. Chapter 25

_Update 5/15/2012_

Sooo this chapter was fun to write and a lot easier to write than the last chapter, actually! Hope you enjoy it. :D

Aiko

* * *

"Ugh!" the Fire-nation guard grunted before slamming into the floor, knocked unconscious.

Katara relaxed from her fighting stance. She looked over her shoulder, grinning behind her helmet. "Told you I could handle it," she said smugly. Zuko stepped out from the shadows, eyeing her.

"Yeah. Great," he said flatly, still a little angry with her. His heart pounded in his chest as the prince noticed just how light the palace's guard duty was. There was only one soldier guarding the weapons room when there was usually three to five. He didn't mention anything about it to the Waterbender—he didn't want to worry her even more. Zuko opened the door and peeked into the armory, making sure no one was inside. Finding it empty, he waved Katara ahead and slipped in behind her. The prince headed straight for a Fire-nation guard's uniform, lifting a burgundy cuirass from the wall of armor.

"Wow," Katara breathed, looking around at the massive room of Fire-nation arsenal. She removed her helmet, her dark hair falling across the broad shoulder plates of her stolen, dark red armor. The walls inside the armory were covered in smooth, dark metal paneling with a wide assortment of weapons and armor hung all around the room. Dark wooden shelving covered one whole wall and Katara knew Sokka would be jealous if he ever found out she'd been in such a room. She took it all in, amazed at the variety of swords and other sharp looking instruments that covered the shelves. As her blue eyes made their way around the room, she noticed that there were a lot of weapons that she'd never seen before and had no idea what they did.

"We don't have time to be impressed," Zuko muttered. He untied his sash, folding it out of habit. Katara frowned, but didn't respond to his snide remark, knowing how upset she would be if the roles were reversed in this situation. His angered words were coming from a place of concern and she knew that. Thinking about it, she was amazed how the two of them happened across each other in the vast palace. And the way his face looked when she took off her helmet—she'd never seen him look so genuinely happy. Her heartbeat fluttered warmly inside her chest.

She glanced over at him while he pulled his shirt off over his head. The prince didn't bother to smooth down his messy, ruffled hair that was sticking up in every direction. The warm light from the wall torches lit up his lean muscles and she watched his concentrated gaze as he unfastened the straps of the armor. The room suddenly seemed smaller and hotter and the Waterbender had to avert her eyes. Her heart was pounding and she swallowed hard. This was the other, unspoken reason she hadn't asked him along—he's a huge distraction for her. Katara bit on her lip, trying to keep her eyes away from the Firebender.

"Katara," his voice spoke her name in the gruff way she loved so much. She turned towards him, her face flushed. Zuko's golden eyes widened at the flustered expression on her face. "W-What? What's wrong?" the prince asked, holding the cuirass, still shirtless. Katara lowered her eyes to his chest before looking away all together.

"N-Nothing," Katara muttered embarrassingly, her inappropriate thoughts running wild.

Noticing her lingering gaze, his own face flushed to a warm shade of pink. "..Can you grab me some under clothes from that armoire behind you?" he asked quietly. Katara nodded and promptly spun around, opening the wooden doors of the armoire. She pulled out a matching set, taking a deep breath. What was the matter with her? There couldn't be a more inappropriate time for her to be thinking like this. She exhaled deeply. The Waterbender pulled roughly at her armor—she suddenly felt like she was suffocating. When she bested the female guard earlier and stole her armor, Katara was surprised to find how light and comfortable the Fire-nation armor was to wear.

Now she felt like she was sitting in a hot spring on a humid day dressed head to toe in a thick fur coat.

She shook her head and shoulders, trying to physically shake away her feelings. Straightening up, she turned and tossed the clothes to the Firebender as nonchalantly as she could. He caught them, his golden eyes meeting hers. He swallowed hard at her easy-to-read face. Even in the unflattering Fire-nation armor that was easily a size too big for her, Katara managed to look alluring—the fire in the room danced around in her blue eyes and reflected beautifully off her dark colored hair. He licked his lips that felt suddenly dry. He shook his head. No, there was no time for that—even if she was the one looking at him that way. She'd probably hit him if he tried anything. "Thanks," he said stiffly. He slid the gray shirt on over his head. The Firebender began untying the drawstring of his deep red pants, but hesitated, his eyes snapping back up at Katara's. Her reddened cheeks deepened in color and he watched her quickly turn away. Zuko couldn't help a smile, his face growing warmer, too.

"S-Sorry! I—" Katara stuttered, flustered and quite possibly more embarrassed than she'd ever felt before. She didn't know why she was feeling this way, they'd seen each other naked plenty of times. Maybe it was just the adrenaline from the mission or the warm lighting of the room, either way she needed to pull herself together.

Now that she was thinking about it, it had been a few days since the two of them had been together that way, but now was definitely not the time. "Um.. I think—I think I should just go wait outsi—" Suddenly the prince's arms were wrapped around her and the back plate of her armor was pressed up against his chest. Zuko held Katara against him with one arm, using his other hand to brush her hair away from her neck. He kissed at her earlobe before his lips found their way down her neck. She swallowed hard, her breath shuddering with each of his kisses. The Firebender's calloused hand clasped onto the side of her face, pressing her neck harder against his mouth while his other arm gripped her body firmly against his, even though she wasn't resisting. "Z-Zuko—" she whimpered, "We can't—" Zuko's lips released the skin he'd been nibbling on and he smiled, turning her to face him.

"Then stop staring at me like that," he demanded. Katara scoffed, pulling away from him. She wondered if he had found out just how much control he had over her in this way and her old reflexes were prodding at her, telling her to get angry and defensive. She resisted the urge and the Waterbender headed toward the door, attempting to regain some self-control. It helped her greatly the further away she got from the Fire-nation prince. Zuko smiled as she reached the door.

As if she could sense his victorious grin, she turned back to face him. Her cheeks were still on fire and a small smile spread across her lips. "You're such a tease," she said.

"**I'm** a tease?" Zuko asked, lifting his one good eyebrow.

Katara grinned, taking back some control. Her blue eyes lit up with flirty mischief as she said, "Yeah, I'm not the one taking my clothes off in here."

Zuko could feel his whole body burning with desire for the Waterbender. How he wished they weren't standing inside of a Fire-nation weapons room in the Royal palace on a mission to save Aang. He would've already had her out of all that armor and pressed up against the nearest wall.

"Anyway, I'm going to keep watch outside," she informed, grabbing for the door. Zuko just smiled. "Hurry up in here," she added, trying to sound more dominant.

"Fine. I'll be quicker now that I can get undressed without you ogling me the whole time," he rebutted. Katara wrinkled her nose at him as he smiled. She swung the door open and he added, "Yell out if you get into trouble."

Katara replaced her helmet and nodded with an unseen smile. Exiting the room, she closed the metal door behind her. She immediately felt cooler and lighter standing in the dim hallway—away from Zuko and the warm lights that lit up his seductive eyes.

In this quiet moment outside of the armory, the Waterbender found herself in a serene state of mind. Which, considering all that was going on, was a bit shocking. She closed her eyes, finally allowing her mind to drift to the thoughts she'd been avoiding thinking about since Zuko had joined the group—thoughts she had been harboring since Ba Sing Se, actually. Thoughts that, once he betrayed her, fueled her rage and abhorrence of him. Thoughts that built walls up all around her, protecting her from him ever having an effect on her again—walls to protect her from herself, even. Katara leaned back against the large metal door and felt peaceful as those walls finally crumbled to the ground. When she and Zuko first started this _relationship_, the Waterbender told herself time and again that it wasn't anything other than an outlet for sexual tension and that she could end it at any point. But standing here now, it was evident that what they had was a lot deeper than she ever thought it would be—or could be.

She loved him.

The Waterbender sighed, a surprising feeling of relief rushing over her. Even if it was only in her thoughts, Katara was glad to finally be able to admit that to herself and be okay with feeling that way. The Waterbender knew that she'd fallen in love long before this moment. Katara had loved him since the short time they'd spent in the caves so long ago, but refused to acknowledge her feelings after being so betrayed and hurt by him. Katara refused to feel anything for the prince ever again and when she couldn't be indifferent, she transformed her feelings to anger and concentrated on loving Aang. And, while she really did love Aang—it wasn't in the same way she loved the Fire-nation prince.

She was never sure just how different the two loves were until she left the camp with Azula that night—which was strange because she had been so furious with Zuko earlier in the day and so concerned about the Avatar. But as she carried the shackled Fire-nation princess through the dark forest on her way to save Aang, all she could think about was Zuko.

She smiled. It seemed like so long ago that the Fire-nation prince had come into her room that one misty morning and kissed her for the first time. When they finally managed to save Aang, she would have to sit down with the Airbender and be honest with him about what was going on and how she felt. Her stomach lunged at the thought of it and her guilt ate away at her insides because she knew just how badly she would hurt the Avatar. It would hurt more than she would ever want to hurt anyone—especially him. But, he deserved to know. And she deserved the chance to be happy and to be honest with herself and what she wants.

She'd worry about her father's and Sokka's reaction another time.

Suddenly Katara could hear footsteps approaching, causing the Waterbender to straighten up and pretend to stand guard. Her blue eyes widened as her breath caught in her throat. She glanced around the hallway floor quickly, not seeing the guard she had beaten earlier. Her heart started to pound as the footsteps drew closer and she cursed herself. Should she just call out for Zuko? What if this was just an unaware guard passing by? Was it worth blowing their cover if she could play it off? Katara stood still, fighting back and forth with herself—her eyes straight ahead and her arms behind her back—in what she assumed a guard's pose to be. Shifting her eyes to the side to size up her possible opponent, her stomach churned painfully inside of her.

Azula stood a little ways down the hallway, her eyes narrowed on hers and her lips upturned in a small, all-knowing smirk. Panic built up inside of her, but the Water-tribe girl couldn't freak out and call out to Zuko now. Katara wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"Hello," Azula greeted in a falsely sweet tone. Fear tore through the Waterbender as she tried to keep herself from shaking too noticeably. She nodded to the Fire-nation princess, hoping that would suffice and that she would continue past her. The Fire-nation princess walked up to her, standing directly beside her.

"Anything to report?" Azula pressed, her voice sending shivers down the Waterbender's spine. Katara bit the inside of her cheek, taking one last glance at the princess's cold smile and firmly planted stance—she wasn't going to leave.

In a single motion, the Waterbender took a swift step backwards, uncorking her water pouch and swinging her arms upward—but she wasn't fast enough. The Fire-nation princess blasted a fireball at her before she could complete the move. It hit Katara squarely in the chest and she fell hard against the floor, her helmet flying off. "Oh. Is that the Water-tribe peasant?" Azula cackled sarcastically, "How **shocking**." Katara growled and leapt up from the floor. She moved her arms swiftly and angrily, bending a large wave of water and blasting it ferociously at Azula. The princess countered easily, taking the offense with another blast of bright blue flames.

Katara did her best to dodge Azula's non-stop attacks in the narrow hallway. Ducking under yet another fiery kick, the Water-tribe girl battled with the idea of calling out for Zuko's help—quickly deciding against it. She refused to scream for help like some weakling. Katara stood and planted her feet into a solid stance. The Waterbender brought her arms up, a wall of water following them and temporarily disintegrating Azula's fiery assaults. Flexing her wrists and pushing her hands forward, the wall of water barreled down the hallway, crashing into Azula. It didn't knock her down, but it did break her stance. The Fire-nation princess's eyes were suddenly furious and was now thrashing her way down the hall toward the Waterbender. Katara smiled at her, standing her guard. She decided to take the offense, shooting lash after lash of water at her, hoping to take advantage of Azula's careless movements, but the princess was very agile in her livid state, dodging all of Katara's rapid attacks.

Suddenly, as the princess drew closer, Katara found that she was quickly on the defense and doing her best to block the Firebender's close-combat strikes.

Azula snarled before jumping up in the air and landing behind the Waterbender. Katara was turning as quickly as she could, but the princess caught her in the back with a bolt of lightning. Katara shrieked in pain as the electricity flowed through her armor and into her body, setting her nerves on fire. Azula cackled, watching the Waterbender writhe in pain at her feet. The female Firebender reached down, grabbing Katara by the back plate of her armor. The Water-tribe girl could feel the princess's heated breath closing in on her ear. She tried to move, but her nerves and muscles were temporarily paralyzed. Azula's lips smiled against her earlobe. "I'm going to make you regret ever capturing me and making those death threats earlier, Water-tribe peasant—you're **my** prisoner now. Aang is dead and Zuko will never get to you in time," she threatened quietly in her ear. Katara tried again to move, the painful aftershock of the lightning still coursing through her body. Katara fought back her tears and her lips trembled as she tried to form Zuko's name. Azula scoffed at her weakness, shoving the Waterbender's face against the ground. "And you should know that my father is just **dying** to meet the Water-tribe commoner who Zuko's become so involved with," she sneered into her ear, "Believe me, you'll be begging for me for to kill you once my father has hold of you—"

The Fire-nation princess was suddenly engulfed in flames and tumbling to the floor—out of Katara's line of sight. The Waterbender still couldn't move, but she knew the warmth of those bright orange flames. "You'll be the only one begging for mercy," Zuko growled, unleashing another blast of flames at his sister.


	26. Chapter 26

_[Update: 9-18-2012] Ohhh my God! This story is getting so difficult to write... Because I'm finally having to do more than have Katara and Zuko smooch all over each other! And 'cause I need to start to conclude things in this story and that's **really **difficult. Kind of sad, too. I've been writing this story for so long! :(_

_On that note, thanks for everyone who reads this and is so patient about it! This fanfic will probably only have about 3-4 more chapters to it... And I'll try my best to get them up quickly! I'm seriously sooo sorry for the slow updates.. I just don't want to rush anything and I'm trying my best so that the ending isn't too awful... (hopefully! ^^;;) We'll see how it goes. I swear, I think I've change my mind about the direction I've wanted to take this story in like, twelve times! XD I'm so indecisive, it's ridiculous! I guess that's another reason for the long wait between chapters.. I want to make sure I don't change my mind. XD Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^^;_

_Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments! I LAVA YOU ALL._

_Aiko_

* * *

A slow, agonized moan escaped from Sokka's mouth as he regained consciousness. His temples throbbed and his vision was still blurry as he opened his blue eyes. "..ka? So... a? A.. ou... ight? Can... me? ...ka!" a voice spoke desperately to him. The Water-tribe warrior quickly noticed his impaired hearing and he blinked hard, attempting to help his vision return. The bright, fuzzy lights began to adjust into shapes as Sokka struggled to remember what happened to put him in this disoriented state.

Just as Toph came into focus, his memory returned. There were tears in her pale green eyes and her lips trembled as she failed to suppress her sobs.

The image of the building in the main square exploding played over in his head, triggering the flow of tears that rolled down the sides of Sokka's face. "S-Suki.." he choked out. Toph let out an unrestrained wail and embraced him tightly as he lay on the ground, burying her face into his shoulder. Sokka's arm flared up in pain as she squeezed him, but it was no match for the emotional pain he was feeling in his heart. He cried openly as the loss of Suki became a harsh reality, hardly recognizing the grief-stricken sounds escaping from his throat. Toph's voice was high and shaky as she apologized over and over again into his ear, crying with him. He clutched onto the small Earthbender with his good arm, his body trembling with hers.

Suddenly, a second pair of arms wrapped around the two of them and Sokka knew they were his father's. "I-I'm so sorry, Sokka—they ambushed us," Hakoda apologized—his voice sounded different, too.

Then a small-framed, tattooed Airbender flashed into Sokka's mind. He wriggled his way out of Toph and Hakoda's embraces and forced himself up into a sitting position, his eyes wide and his heart panicked.

"Aang!" Sokka screeched. Toph covered her own colorless face, crying harder. His blue eyes quickly found his father's—pleading, "No! **No**!" Hakoda lowered his head. The Water-tribe warrior finally took in his surroundings, finding that they were still in the Capitol's main square, the collapsed buildings still on fire and smoking. The Duke and Teo were a short distance away, their eyes puffy and their cheeks stained with tears.

The Water-tribe native's heart stopped as he caught sight of a charred, lifeless body laying on the stage. Sokka was suddenly choking and screaming all at once—a whole new wave of pain crushing him as he discovered his friend's fate.

The Avatar was dead.

"**How**?! How did this happen?!" he shrieked, sobbing. Toph quickly wrapped her arms around him again, trying to contain his shaking. She held on tight as his shaking grew more and more violent, needing the embrace just as much as he did. For several minutes the small, broken group did nothing but wept loudly together. Sokka winced in pain as he remembered the two Firebenders looming over him. "H-How did I—those soldiers—" he mentioned shakily, realizing that he should have, by all rights, shared the same fate as Suki, Haru and Aang. The Earthbender squeezed him tighter.

"Toph came from nowhere," his father explained slowly, his arms around the two of them. "...I can never thank you enough, Toph."

"But—I was too late for Suki and Haru... and.. and **Aang**," Toph choked out, her voice thick with guilt and anguish as more tears began spilling down her cheeks. Sokka was now the one embracing her. "I'm so sorry, Sokka," she cried, "I'm sorry. I should've gotten here sooner."

"Don't apologize. You didn't do any of this," Sokka said quietly. He held her and looked around the chaotic scene one more time before he lowered his eyes to the blind Earthbender who was usually emotionally indifferent and so strong—broken and weeping in his embrace. And while Sokka's mind was far from calm and his heart was not done breaking, he knew that he needed to try to take the calm, stable role and make the decision of what to do now. He drew in a deep breath. The Water-tribe teen wiped the tears out of his eyes and off his face. Watching the Earthbender cry, he brought his hand to Toph's cheek and wiped the tears gently from her face, too. She stared blindly back at him. And although she couldn't see his expression, her eyes welled up with more tears as he moved his thumb over her cheek. His mind was overrun with disturbing images and painful emotions, but he forced himself to think calmly. "...Dad, can you help me take my shirt off so I can make a sling for my arm?" the Water-tribe warrior requested. Hakoda's face was stern and he nodded, quickly removing what was left of Sokka's tattered shirt. The shirt became a make-shift sling and Sokka looked down at his mutilated arm, taking notice of a few other burned areas of skin on his ribcage and hip. Thinking of Suki, Haru and Aang—wild, uncontrollable rage filled the Water-tribe warrior and he was eager to storm the palace, confident that he could tear the Firelord apart with his one good hand.

But, even if he could ignore his own set of injuries, Sokka took a quick account of his comrades' wounds and noticed that, aside from Toph, they weren't much better off. So for now, the plan had to be to retreat.

"We need to move," Sokka decided, "We need to get somewhere safe for now." He was met with silent stares of agreement. As much as he wanted to rush off to the next fight, the rest of his team just looked too battered to move on and staying here for much longer wasn't safe—he wasn't sure why they hadn't moved already. His mind drifted to Aang and he realized that they probably didn't want to move him. Sokka's heart wrenched inside of his chest at the thought of burying his young, blindly optimistic friend. He exhaled, feeling like he'd been holding his breath this whole time—what a tremendous failure.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Sokka noticed a cloaked figure leaning over Aang's body.

"Hey!" Sokka screeched out, his eyes wide, "Stop!" The rest of the group immediately followed his line of sight to see the hooded character hesitate a moment before he lifted the Avatar's remains from the stage and disappeared down an alley across the square. Sokka was immediately on his feet, along with Toph, the Duke and his father, as they all chased after the thief. Adrenaline pushed Sokka through his painful injuries and they quickly were closing the gap between them and the man who stole Aang's remains. Toph let out an angry growl as she stomped her foot against the ground. The stone of the street rippled and suddenly a giant stone wall rose from the ground blocking the cloaked man's escape. The thief turned, carrying the lifeless body of the Airbender in his arms.

"Put him down," Sokka seethed, his blue eyes lethal, "Now." The hooded figure said nothing. With a quick twist of his ankle, a hole in the street opened up beneath the thief. He and the Avatar fell through and the ground instantly closed back up.

"Toph!" Sokka called out.

Toph nodded and quickly brought her foot down, re-opening the hole in the street. Sokka turned to Teo and the Duke. "You two head back to camp. Get some rest, get working on some explosives and we'll meet up with you there later," he ordered. The two didn't argue and headed down the street in the opposite direction. Hakoda, Sokka and Toph dropped into the underground tunnel. Toph stood still for a moment. "He went this way," she informed and they ran down the pitch black tunnel after the thief.

Sokka couldn't see a thing, but that didn't stop him from pressing forward. "Did you know that this was here?" Sokka asked the Earthbender. Toph shook her head.

"No, because it wasn't here earlier," she explained quickly as they sprinted after the hooded thief, "That Earthbender is creating this tunnel as he goes."

Hakoda panted as they ran through the darkness. "I didn't know that was possible," he said.

"Well, the badgermoles are the only Earthbenders I know who can do this so quickly," Toph explained, "Whoever this person is, they're obviously an Earthbending master."

"Can't you do something to stop him?" Sokka asked.

"I can try, but the whole tunnel might collapse," Toph answered.

Sokka groaned as tears began to prickle at the backs of his eyes—the pain was finally catching up with him. He ignored it the best he could, infuriated and sick at the thought of this thief getting away from them. Sokka had already failed to protect and save Aang from his fate, he'll be damned if he doesn't get to give his friend the proper burial the brave Avatar deserves. The group pressed forward until they could see a soft glowing in the distance. "There's a light ahead, Toph," Sokka cautioned.

"Stop for a second," she instructed. The younger and older Water-tribe warriors came to a halt. Toph was the only one who could kind of see right now, so they would have to trust her judgment. Her blind eyes widened as her feet felt the vibrations of the earth. "No way," she whispered.

"What? What do you see?" Sokka and Hakoda whispered urgently.

"Come on!" she ordered, rushing toward the light. As they got closer to the light, Sokka realized they were reaching the tunnel's end. Exiting the tunnel, Sokka froze as the three of them now stood in a large cave, full of hooded people holding torches. The thief stood front and center, still carrying the Airbender's burned body in his arms. Sokka's heart pounded in his chest and he swallowed hard as he surveyed the amount of people they would possibly have to fight. No amount of vengeful adrenaline would give them a fighting chance against this large of a group. Why would Toph lead them here without a strategy? There were probably twenty five to thirty cloaked figures and Sokka was now feeling increasingly nervous with an injured right arm and no experience with using his sword left-handed. He looked sideways at his father, who looked just as nervous standing beside him.

"Why are you doing this?" Toph demanded into the crowd, "What do you want with him?"

There was no response from the crowd. Toph's face was full of confusion and hurt as she stared into the mob of masked people.

"Answer me!" she bellowed.

"Forgive me for worrying you like this," a familiar voice spoke, "I did not have a better idea of how to get you to come here." Sokka looked back and forth between Toph and the man stepping forward from the crowd. The Water-tribe teen racked his brain to place the voice with a face—he sounded so familiar. The cloaked figure pulled the hood away and Sokka's eyes grew wide at the sight of the gray-haired, wise Firebender. "...Welcome to the White Lotus," Uncle Iroh addressed, his voice and expression solemn.

* * *

Katara could feel the heat surrounding her. She was still completely paralyzed as she laid on the floor of the small hallway. All she could see were Zuko's boots as he stood directly in front of her and the occasional burst of blue and orange flames. All she could hear was the Firebender siblings' grunting as they exchanged fiery blows. She noticed that Azula wasn't arrogantly taunting and cackling like she usually did in battle—which was Katara's only indication that Zuko was holding his ground against her. She couldn't help thinking that Zuko would have probably bested his sister by now if he didn't have to stand guard over her. The Waterbender cursed herself for being so weak—if Zuko ended up getting hurt because of her she'd never forgive herself. Katara winced as the heat of their fiery battle flew just overhead, singeing the ends of her hair and warming her skin. Her eyes grew wide and her heart pounded in her chest as a sense of excitement swelled up inside of her. The small, involuntary reaction of her body gave her a renewed realization of hope. The Waterbender concentrated heavily, focusing her energy to her limbs.

Katara felt her fingers twitch.

She smiled. It wasn't much, but it was the first movement she controlled since being hit with the lightning. She drew in a deep breath, trying to gather her strength and breathe through the electric pain still coursing through her veins. She needed to overcome this paralyzed state quickly so she could stand and help Zuko fight or, at the very least, guard herself.

Azula growled—she did not like the fact that her painfully predictable, far less-skilled sibling managed to catch her off guard the way he did. Since he had emerged from the weapons room, his attacks have been relentless and surprisingly powerful. The only thing working in her favor was that he would not leave the Waterbender's side. So as long as she kept her distance, she knew she'd be fine. The Fire-nation princess sent another swift, fiery kick at her brother. Zuko blocked her attack and countered with a round of fireball punches. Azula flipped out of the way, dodging his attacks and shooting off a couple of her own at the immobilized Katara laying at his feet. Zuko moved to extinguish the bright blue flames. Azula scowled at the way he foolishly protected the weak Water-tribe girl. Didn't he know that if he refused to move and dodge her attacks instead of absorbing them that he'd eventually get worn down? Well, he was stupid, so maybe he didn't.

Or maybe he just loved the Water-tribe girl _that_ much.

Azula huffed at the idea of it. She never would understand her brother. He was weak-minded and so easily swayed by his emotions. Her eyes found Katara. The Fire-nation princess figured Zuko would be masochistic enough to fall in love with someone who hated him and was in love with the Avatar, his ex-enemy—but Azula would never figure out how he managed to get her to return the feelings. She struggled to keep her own emotions at bay as she thought about their mother and how she even seemed to think so highly of Zuko. It was like their mother ignored all of Azula's accomplishments and natural talent just because she preferred Zuko's personality to hers. Azula's blood boiled and she hurled her frustrations in the form of a fiery wall down the hallway toward her older brother. Zuko blocked it, taking a quick glance at the dark-skinned Waterbender to ensure that she was okay. Azula must've gotten too close to injuring Katara further because her brother was visibly furious as he turned and shot a wave of fire toward her. The princess glowered at him as she evaded the blow. She never needed the reassurance of anyone to know how amazing she was. She knew that she was more worthy of love and admiration than her simple-minded, lack-luster, mediocre brother. That said, as Azula thought back to the time at the Boiling Rock prison—she realized that even the only two friends she'd ever had ended up betraying her because of him.

She clenched her jaw, glaring at her brother. The simple fact that Zuko seemed to move people in his favor without trying or forcing them only fueled Azula's hatred of him.

Her jealousy and inner rage swelled, causing her to send another massive attack toward Zuko. He widened his stance, absorbing it with his own set of flames. He let out a grunt as the powerful energy of her attack broke through his and hit him. Azula could hear his breathing getting heavier—finally, he was tiring out. The princess never felt like she'd lost the upper hand, but now the fight was definitely hers to win. Her gaze was intense as she stared down the blazing hallway at her scarred, tired, naive brother. Her lips curled up into a smirk. What did it matter to her who her mother preferred at this point? The reality of the world is that only the strong and powerful survive—her mother was gone and Zuko would be soon, too.

Then she wouldn't have to think about either of them anymore.

Fire coursed through her veins and suddenly Azula was propelling herself forward as the heat of her blue flames ignited underneath her boots and fists. Zuko shot a predictable defensive attack at her and she evaded it, blasting a powerful rain of fire strikes down upon him and the Waterbender. The Fire-nation prince turned and dove on top of Katara, rolling as far out of the way as he could. He escaped the blunt of Azula's attack, but he panted hard as he recovered from being hit by a few of the stray fireballs. Zuko remained huddled up over the wide-eyed Water-tribe girl as he glared at his sister, his hair sticking to the sweat on his forehead. Azula just smiled and she unleashed her final wave of fiery blows at her brother.

The small hallway was suddenly emersed in a dense cloud of steam and a loud hissing filled the air as Azula's wall of fire was blocked with a giant wall of water. The Fire-nation princess immediately grew uneasy—she'd waited too long to finish her brother off. An unseen fireball sent Azula shifting blindly to the right, where she was hit dead on by a massive wave of water. She tumbled backwards, somersaulting onto her feet. She shot blindly into the thick haze, frantic with the thoughts that she could now lose this fight. Fire burned closely to one side of her as water boxed her in from the other side. Azula gritted her teeth, enraged that the two benders were working so well together at keeping her where they wanted.

The princess slid her foot back, bringing her arms around, lightning surrounding the tips of her fingers. She noticed a shadowy figure begin to form as the steam started to clear. Without hesitation, Azula bended the lightning straight at it.

There was a moment of calm silence before the lightning came bolting back at her and crashed square into her chest. Azula let out a painful wail unlike anything she'd ever heard come out of her mouth. She was knocked back several feet and suddenly she was the one lying paralyzed in the hallway. Her eyes brimmed with agonized, frustrated tears and her body convulsed as the electricity flowed through her.

Zuko, her incompetent brother, had beaten her.

Azula awaited his finishing blow—she welcomed it—but it never came.

"Do you still have the metal bindings that Toph made earlier?" Zuko asked as he loomed over his sister. Katara shook her head.

"She broke them when she broke free earlier," Katara answered.

Zuko glared down at his sister. "Well, we're going to need to stop by the dungeon then—" the Firebender noted, "—which works out well anyway. It might be a good place to start as far as looking for Aang."

Azula writhed in pain as a struggled chuckle escaped from her throat. "F-Fools," she managed to choke out, "He's.. **dead**."

Katara's heart wrenched inside of her chest as Azula's words rang in her ears. Katara looked to Zuko. His eyes reflected her worry and pain, but all the prince said was, "Don't listen to her, Katara. Azula always lies."


	27. Chapter 27

_AN: Happy new year everyone! Sooo.. I'm really sorry I don't update this story regularly. Hopefully I won't keep you hanging on much longer. I'm planning on getting this all wrapped up in the next three-five chapters. I have an idea where I want to go with this, I just don't know how to get there just yet. But, anyway, thank you for those who read and enjoy this fanfic. c: I never would've written this far without you._

Aiko

* * *

Neither the Waterbender or Firebender bothered donning their helmets at this point. The fact that Azula came to find Katara made it clear that the Firelord and the palace guards were aware that there was an intruder. The Fire-nation prince furrowed his brow and readjusted his paralyzed sister who was slung over his shoulder. Zuko and Katara hurried down the corridors towards the dungeon. They should've tied up the guard outside of the armory earlier—they'd been careless. The only thing that has worked to their advantage was the fact that no one seemed to know that Zuko was with the Waterbender. They overtook the two measly guards that stood out front of the dungeon entrance with ease, which only worried the Fire-nation prince further.

He knew his father would want immediate capture of any intruder, especially one so closely tied to both himself and the Avatar, so where were all the guards?

Zuko locked Azula in the one of the first cells they came across as Katara stood guard. The two benders continued deeper into the Fire-nation dungeons. His golden eyes bore down the winding steps that disappeared into the darkness and he listened as their hasty footsteps were the only sounds echoing off the stone walls.

As the Firebender and Waterbender reached the bottom of the stairwell, Katara peeked around the corner and surveyed the next floor. "I don't see anyone," she whispered, glancing back to him. His stomach twisted into painful knots. Katara was feeling a little nervous herself now. She was no idiot and was well aware of the fact that the lack of resistance was not a stroke of luck, but a bad sign.

Zuko swallowed hard as the threatening whispers Azula made in his ear earlier drifted back into his thoughts.

"You're going to regret not killing me when you could, brother... I'd keep a close watch on your Water-tribe peasant."

His frown deepened, showing his concern. "Let's move forward, but be careful," the Firebender warned, ignoring the nervous twisting and turning going on in his gut. Katara nodded and complied silently. He glanced sideways at the Water-tribe girl as they pressed forward. As much as he wanted to just dismiss Azula's threats, his intuition was begging him to turn back and take Katara as far away as he could from all of this—leaving the young Avatar to fend for himself, if he was even still alive.

But the Fire-nation prince's conscience wouldn't let him do that.

The two of them had to rescue the Avatar. Katara had generously taken part of the blame for Aang's capture and, for that reason, Zuko knew that she would never leave here without the Airbender, or at the very least, without finding out his fate.

They walked cautiously down the dimly lit corridor. Zuko felt his chest tighten as he stared down the line of small torches that lit the empty passageway, remembering the last time he was down here and his cruel words to his Uncle. He still hadn't gotten the chance to apologize to him. Katara took hold of his hand, giving it a light squeeze. Zuko snapped out of his thoughts and half-smiled at the Waterbender's concerned expression. "Sorry, bad memories," he explained vaguely as he opened up the outer door of one of the jail cells.

"..The last time I saw my Uncle, I said some really awful things to him," he further clarified. He looked inside the small room and found yet another empty cell. He huffed, slamming the door and heading to the next room. Katara tugged him back to her. The corners of the Firebender's lips drew downward as he averted his eyes in shame. "He's the only person who'd ever accepted me and I left him in here to rot. Once I realized what I needed to do, I came down here to apologize to him and free him, but he had already escaped," Zuko said, a nervous lump forming in his throat, "So he still doesn't know how sorry I am for betraying him the way I did."

"...Well, once you get the chance to talk to him, I'm sure he'll understand that you didn't mean what you said," Katara comforted, her gaze sincere, "And I think he would be proud of you for finally finding your own way." Zuko smiled a little and hoped she was right. They walked the rest of the floor together, checking each cell and finding them all empty. Zuko sighed and headed for the next flight of stairs, but Katara pulled him back. "Aang isn't down here," Katara murmured hopelessly.

Zuko met her gaze, knowing she was right.

"Maybe not.. but we'll find him," Zuko insisted, "I'm sure Aang's fine." He really couldn't imagine his father having the Avatar killed, because another one would just be reborn elsewhere in the world. That seemed counter-productive to the Fire-nation prince, but Ozai wasn't exactly easy to predict, either. Maybe the Firelord thought he'd have the whole world conquered by the time another Avatar was old enough to do anything to stop him.

Zuko knew his father was planning on taking out the Earth Kingdom when the comet arrived, so it wasn't hard to believe, actually.

"Is there another place they would keep him?" Katara asked, her tone hopeful.

Zuko thought about it. "Well, there's the secret room my father hid in during the invasion..." he answered, his eyes drifting away from her, "That's the only other place I know about in the palace. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want him locked up anywhere out of his reach, just in case." The Fire-nation prince thought about his last interaction with his father and could feel his heart start to pound. "If that's where Aang is being held, my father is probably the one guarding him," Zuko realized out loud.

"..that would explain the lack of guards," Katara acknowledged. Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat—it made sense. His heart thudded against his chest as the thought of facing his father, together with Katara, sunk in. The Firebender's golden-colored eyes found the Waterbender's blue ones, expecting to see some level of fear or worry reflected back at him, but her face was hard with determination.

"Well, we don't have time to waste. Let's go," Katara stated. Zuko eyed her.

"Katara..." he hesitated, not wanting to offend her with his next words, "You know.. it's okay to be scared—" he started.

Her blue eyes were locked on his. "I'm not afraid," she claimed, "We can beat him. I know it." Zuko almost believed her, but her grip on his hand was giving her away. He half-smiled to her, admiring her bravery.

The prince pulled Katara into a tight embrace. "I love you," he confessed.

Katara froze in his arms. Their hearts pounded against one another and she took a breath, overwhelmed with his sudden confession. She thought back to everything they'd been through, back to her innermost thoughts. "Z-Zuko," she said softly, finally returning his embrace, "I—"

Suddenly they could hear footsteps coming up the steps towards them. Zuko yanked Katara into a nearby cell, hiding in the shadows against the wall as the soft murmuring of talking grew louder.

Zuko's blood went cold as the guards' conversation fell on his ears.

"Did you hear?" a voice said to another, "The execution this morning was a success." Zuko's stomach dropped and his eyes immediately shot to Katara, whose expression turned cold as stone. When she finally moved to look at Zuko, big tears brimmed her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. His heart broke as the prince reached out and pulled her to him, holding her tight as she began to tremble and whimper. She shook in his arms as she fought back her sobs. His own mind went wild as hopelessness and guilt washed over him. This was the worst thing that could have happened.

Then the other guard spoke.

"Yeah, I heard. I know that the Firelord is still looking for that Waterbender that broke into the palace—not sure why," the other guard remarked, "I heard she's a looker—real exotic."

"Maybe he intends to make her a concubine," the other guard chuckled.

"You're sick," he laughed.

The men's laughter faded and one of the guards continued, "It's a good thing she wasn't at the square this morning, she might've gotten killed along with the rest of the rebel group."

The guards continued past, oblivious to the two benders that lurked in the shadows of the cell beside them.

Zuko's breath hitched in his throat as he tried to choke back his own sorrow. They'd all been killed? Tears stung at the back of his eyes and his heart wrenched as he thought about Toph, Sokka and the others. He directed his gaze to Katara, expecting to see her broken and over taken with grief. Katara stared back at Zuko, her eyes strangely dull and unreadable, her previous tears frozen to her cheeks. The lack of expression worried the Fire-nation prince even further. He had no idea what to say to her right now and her blank stare didn't offer anything as far as a clue. But Zuko realized quickly that no amount of words—be they wise, supportive, or angry—could possibly comfort the Waterbender. He wanted to say something though, so he decided to go simple. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Katara," he apologized, his throat thick with his own grief. "I won't let anything happen to you," Zuko promised in a whisper. As he thought about what would be their possible next move, Aang's execution and the untimely fate of Sokka, Toph and the others—Zuko could feel his blood start to boil. Suddenly Katara's lips were smashed against his. Zuko's eyes grew wide as she moved her lips across his passionately.

She pulled back before he could even close his eyes. He stared at the Waterbender in bewilderment. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her eyebrows knitted together in hesitation. "Zuko—" Katara breathed, her hands on his chest. She lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes bright with tears.

"Katara.." Zuko started, readying himself for her breakdown.

"...I love you, too," she said quickly. Before he could react or respond to this, the Firebender was shoved backwards and falling to the stone floor. He turned just as the cell door's lock clinked into place.

"K-Katara, what—" Zuko stammered, in disbelief.

"If the Firelord wants me," she spoke angrily and slowly, "He's going to get a lot more than he bargained for." Katara's face was unfamiliar to him as unbridled rage tore through her normally gentle features. The understanding of what she was doing sunk in immediately.

She was going to leave him here and go face Ozai alone.

Panic tore through the Fire-nation prince. Zuko clutched to the metal bars. "Katara, don't do this—you're not going to win a fight against my father by yourself! Let me out!" Zuko demanded, his body trembling as a mix of emotions flowed through his body.

"There's nothing more he can do to hurt me," Katara answered, her voice crazed and her eyes wild. Her body relaxed for a moment as she gazed to the prince and added in a softer tone, "..Except hurt you. And I.. I can't lose you, too." Zuko gritted his teeth as intense worry bubbled over into even more intense anger.

"You're an idiot! Let me out, **now**!" he bellowed. She turned her back to him, heading for the outer door. Zuko's chest heaved and his breath caught in his throat as she reached the door. "Katara, if you leave me here I'll never forgive you," he threatened. She kept her back to him and reached for the handle of the door. "I'm serious—we're done if you leave," he clarified.

Sweat dripped down his temple. He just confessed his love for her, so he knew that what he was saying was an empty threat and sickenly dramatic, but the Firebender didn't know what else to say to stop her from going. Katara hesitated, looking back at him with pain-filled eyes. Zuko matched her expression, pleading with her, "I'll go with you. We can do this together." His eyes bore into hers. "I don't want to lose you, either," he stated earnestly, "Please, Katara."

"I'm sorry, Zuko," Katara whispered. With that, she disappeared out the door. The prince erupted, flames exploding from his extremities and spewing profanities as she bolted up the stairwell after the Fire-nation guards.


	28. Chapter 28

_Update: 3-05-2013_

_Gettin' down to it! :D Only two more chapters after this one! Hope this chapter doesn't seem too rushed... And I really hope you all like it. I didn't know how to end this chapter, so hopefully it's not too cheesy. XD Hahahaha.. Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and enjoyed this story so far. It really helps force me into finishing it. Thank you and enjoy~!_

_Aiko_

* * *

Katara's knees hit hard against the ground as she was thrust into Ozai's secret chamber. She pushed herself up onto her hands, taking notice of her reflection in the polished, gold-tiled floor. Her shoulders and stomach were exposed in the red, one-shouldered garment that she had on underneath her Fire-nation armor. The guards had her remove the stolen armor and confiscated her water pouch when they "captured" her. Her hair was a tangled mess and her wild eyes looked unfamiliar as they gazed back at her. In the reflective gold tile, Katara's eyes narrowed on the Dai Li agents that were perched high above her. The ceiling and walls were made entirely of stone—if they decided to attack, she would be in trouble. She felt the room out, searching for the pull of a water source. She clenched her jaw as not so much as a drop of water could be felt in the small, yet luxurious room.

As a bead of sweat made its way down the side of her face, the Waterbender took notice how uncomfortably warm the room was. She glanced up from her reflection. Firelord Ozai sat tall atop a small set of stairs as two dangerously large, fiery columns burned brightly on either side of him. The fires cast ominous shadows across his hardened expression and his golden eyes bore down on her menacingly.

Katara ardently returned the glare once her eyes met his. The sight of the Firelord made her blood run hot and caused her anger to return in full swing. Fury flared up inside her chest and surged through her veins. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands, her eyes narrowing on his. Katara's skin burned and, in this moment, the Waterbender was convinced that if she tried to breathe fire at him, she would be able to do so.

"Stand up, Waterbender," the Firelord commanded. Katara didn't budge. She would obey no order given to her.

Ozai wrinkled his nose when she defied his order. He gritted his teeth and repeated himself, which he did not like to do. "I said, **Stand. up.**"

It was only a second longer that she did not comply when two men flanked her, yanking her roughly from the ground and onto her feet. This coaxed a smile from the Firelord's lips. Katara scowled at his victorious expression. She directed her sneer to the two Dai Li agents standing on either side of her. The Waterbender thrashed around, trying to pull out of their grip.

"Are you stupid? Ozai plans to wipe out the entire Earth Kingdom on the day of the comet and you're here **helping** this monster?!" she screeched. The two men did not respond. "Don't you have loved ones back in the Earth Kingdom?! Don't you care about your heritage, your people?!" she screeched, growing even more emotional.

"Katara, the Waterbender," the Firelord calmly intervened, finally standing himself. The small smile still touched his lips, but, much like Azula, it never reached his eyes. "You look angry. You no doubt discovered my triumph over that misfit, rebel group you call friends," he boasted smugly.

"And Aang," Katara growled. Katara's heart pounded as a new level of fury took over her emotions. The Firelord hesitated, his smile widening as he continued toward her, his boots slowly clicking across the liquid gold floor.

"Yes, the Avatar is dead," he confirmed. He stopped before getting too close to her. "I heard that your brother and father were part of the group that failed to save the young Avatar," he recalled. His eyes twinkled with dark amusement as he spoke, "And that your mother was killed when you were a little girl." The acknowledgement and confirmation of losing Aang, Sokka and her father—it was too much. Her head dropped from the weight of it. Memories of promises made between herself and the Avatar swirled around her head and pained her heart. Sokka's goofy grin and her father's warm eyes flashed in her mind, doubling the pain in her chest. As much as she tried to resist them, fresh, sorrowful tears brimmed Katara's eyes. "Now you truly **are** alone, " he added, cruelly.

With that, the Waterbender let out a furious roar and lunged at the Firelord, but the Dai Li agents tightened their hold on her arms, pulling her back.

"Call off your mindless goons and fight me, you coward!" Katara shouted, teeth bared. "You wanted me—Here I am! **Fight** me!"

The Firelord chuckled darkly. "Believe me, you don't want that. That is not the purpose of your capture," he explained vaguely. Ozai stepped up, standing directly in front of the Waterbender. The Dai Li agents restrained her. Katara was breathing heavily, the pain and rage in her chest making every breath harder to take.

"What do you want with me then?" Katara sneered.

"Well, I simply needed to satisfy my curiosity and find out exactly who this incredible Waterbender was," Ozai answered, his tone low and condescending. Katara cringed away from him as Ozai leaned down, his cold, emotionless eyes level with hers. "But mostly, you just so happen to be the key to tying up a few of my loose ends," he explained. He tilted his head as his golden eyes looked over her face. "Where is Zuko?" he asked bluntly.

Katara could feel a moment of fear rush through her at the mention of the Firebender's name. The Firelord's face was close enough to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. The light smell of smoke and fire-whiskey filled the Waterbender's nostrils and her heart started to race with unexpected nervousness. "How should I know?" she answered firmly. The Firelord grinned, reflecting the tiniest amount of Zuko in his features.

"Oh, you should know. Azula told me about..." he paused, not breaking eye contact with the Waterbender, "..the two of you."

Katara's face flushed a little as she glared back into his golden eyes, refusing to back down. " Well, I don't know where he is," she said sternly, "I left him behind at camp when I kidnapped Azula."

Ozai stood upright, a contemplative look coming over his face. "You know, Katara, I find it incredibly curious that a Waterbender as strong as yourself was captured by two, dimwitted dungeon guards," the Firelord mused. Katara could feel her heartbeat pick back up as nervousness pulsed through her veins. She wasn't expecting Ozai to ask her about Zuko—she thought he just wanted her for some reason. She swallowed hard. Katara was beginning to regret locking up the Fire-nation prince in that cell where he could easily be found and brought here.

"Azula came to find you at the armory, did she not?" he asked, as though he knew the answer. Katara averted her eyes in response. "And the fact that she is not the one who brought you down here—it must mean you bested her." The Waterbender pressed her lips together, cursing herself in her head. The Firelord was cunning. She was beginning to understand how the Fire-nation was winning the war so far. "This brings me to the conclusion that you are indeed smarter and stronger than I would have believed otherwise," Ozai continued. Suddenly he grabbed her chin in his hand, jerking her face to look at him. "Or you had help and somehow got separated from each other."

Katara gritted her teeth as he firmly held her chin in place. His eyes bore into hers—he didn't have all the details right—but he was getting close. Ozai couldn't know that his son was locked up only a few stairwells away. It would make everything she was doing completely worthless. She had to throw him off.

"Believe what you want, but I fought Azula alone," Katara said triumphantly, deepening her glare, "And I killed her."

Ozai froze for a moment before he spoke. He stared hard at her face, examining her for any sign that she was lying. He released her face and stood upright, considering the possibility of her words. His daughter, the Fire-nation's princess and a Firebending prodigy—taken down by a common Waterbender? He took a few steps back and eyed Katara. When he spoke, his words were slow, flat and monotone, "You must take me as a fool, Waterbender. You want me to believe you alone killed Azula when you couldn't even escape from two inexperienced guards?" His tone was ever-so-slightly doubtful.

"I never said it was an easy task—killing Azula. By the time I reached the dungeons to look for Aang, I was exhausted. They caught me off guard," Katara declared confidently.

"...You aren't **capable** of killing someone," Ozai insisted.

Katara smirked—she had managed to completely distract him from Zuko for the moment. The Waterbender could see that the Firelord was beginning to absorb the fact that Azula was possibly dead by her hands. And even though it was a lie, Katara was glad to see Ozai feeling some of the anger and pain that she was feeling about losing her own loved ones. His golden eyes were growing in ferocity and Katara realized that she should probably be frightened, but she wasn't. Vengeance surged through her veins, fueling her boldness.

"Why don't you call off your guards, give me my water pouch and we'll see if I'm capable of killing or not," the Waterbender threatened gravely.

Without hesitation, Ozai stormed towards her, his footsteps thudding hard and fast against the metallic floor. His eyes were livid as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, roughly yanking her towards him. Katara's face scrunched up in pain and she released a small cry as he shook her by her hair. He threatened her through clenched teeth, "I still don't know if this is a lie or not—but you're lucky that I need you alive at this moment of time, or I would have already snapped your neck, Waterbender. Once I find Zuko, you will watch as I slowly and painfully make him pay for his treachery once and for all." Katara's fury flared up at his threat and she opened her eyes to glare defiantly at the Firelord.

The Waterbender spat at him.

Ozai froze, her spit misted across his face. Rage ripped through his features and he backhanded the Waterbender hard. Katara could feel her neck whip around and her sight went dark for a moment. She reeled from the physical pain throbbing in her cheek and head. A tingling sensation took over her whole face and she blinked hard, trying to get her vision to come back.

Before her eyes were able to completely focus, she could feel the heat of flames drawing closer to her face. "If you so desperately want me to turn you into a burned, bloody mess right now—I'll gladly do it," Ozai growled, "I don't need you to be in perfect condition. I only need you to be alive." Katara's skin flushed red as the Firelord's fist, engulfed in fire, closed in on her face.

* * *

_"I love you, too."_

Zuko grunted as he kicked hard against the iron bars of his cell.

_"I..I can't lose you."_

Another loud _clang_ sounded as his foot slammed into the bars.

_"I'm sorry, Zuko."_

He roared angrily, flames engulfing him and filling the room. As the flames extinguished once again, the cell remained unchanged by his fire. These cells were created to hold even the most powerful of Firebenders, so it was no surprise that his fiery blast left no mark.

His Uncle had managed to escape though.

And while Zuko knew that he was not his Uncle Iroh—the fact that Iroh escaped at all gave the Fire-nation prince hope that it was possible. He looked around the room, trying to see it through his Uncle's eyes. It was a small, murky, stone room made up of thick walls and strong, metal bars. Clutching onto the iron rods that contained him, Zuko sighed and closed his eyes, scouring his mind for an answer. How could he have escaped? What did he do?

_Lightning._

The Firebender's eyes flicked open and he swallowed hard. Zuko had only ever redirected lightning—he had never conjured it up himself. Uncle Iroh had shown him the motions though. Perhaps if he meditated hard enough, he could focus his energy and...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a heart-breaking, painful shriek echoing through the dungeon halls.

A pair of bright blue eyes came to mind as fear and anger immediately rippled through him. The prince was back to kicking the bars with all his might, grunting loudly with each strike. He had no time to meditate and figure out how to use lightning. As his foot collided with the iron bars again and again, Zuko thought about his last confrontation with his father. He should have ended it then. Then none of this would have even happened. He gritted his teeth, his fists igniting in flames. He began throwing desperate, fiery punches at the iron bars. Deep down, despite the current situation, Zuko knew that he couldn't have killed his father that day. His country would have only seen the killing of Ozai as Zuko's own, murderous way of getting himself into power. The prince knew that it had to be the Avatar to face his father—only Aang could restore balance to the world. He hung his head in defeat, twisting his fingers into his jet black hair. That was how it was _supposed_ to be, but Zuko knew that there was no way of that happening now. The Firebender straightened up and slammed his fists into the bars. His knuckles began to crack and bleed with every hit, but he couldn't feel any pain. He clutched onto the bars and shook, his fingers dripping with the deep red liquid. He let out a painful, frustrated wail. The Fire-nation prince failed his Uncle, the Avatar, Sokka, Toph and the others—and now he couldn't even get out of this cell to save Katara from his own father.

Zuko felt tears stinging at the backs of his eyes. He was so useless—he always has been.

Suddenly, the prince could hear the soft sound of hushed voices outside of his outer jail cell door.

Finally, some more guards were passing by. The Firebender sent a blast of fire barreling out of his cell and into the hall."Hey!" he bellowed. The voices fell silent. It was a huge risk, but he didn't care at this point. Images of what his father was possibly doing to Katara to illicit that scream was racing through his mind. If these guards chose to kill him, there was hardly anything he could do. But the Firebender was betting everything on the fact that they would take him straight to his father. Uneasy silence filled the air. Had the guards really ignored him and passed by? "**Hey**!" he yelled again, shooting another ball of flames down the hall of his cell room.

Another moment passed and Zuko narrowed his eyes as a strange, crunching noise echoed down the narrow corridor. He watched, his eyes wide, as the metal outer door of his cell cracked and folded in the center. As the door was ripped off its hinges, he was relieved, elated and immediately aware of who it was outside of his cell. "Toph!" he called out, unable to hide his joy, "**Toph**!"

"Yeah, yeah—it's me. Geez, Sparky, keep it down," the small, blind Earthbender hushed. She ran over and grabbed hold of the iron bars, bending them far enough apart so he could get out. "I mean, are you trying to get us **all** captured?"

"You.. all?" Zuko repeated in a question as he slipped through the bars. His eyes drifted over the Earthbender's head, his heart pounding. Hakoda stepped into the doorway, his clothes full of burn holes and his face hard. Zuko stared in disbelief as Sokka also stepped into view. The Water-tribe warrior was wearing a sling and looked pretty scuffed up, but he was alive. A relieved smile broke across his face.

The guards from earlier were obviously misinformed. The Airbender's smiling face appeared in Zuko's mind, making him feel hopeful once again.

"Aang—is he here?" Zuko asked the Earthbender hopefully. Toph lowered her eyes, the dark strands from her bangs hanging in front of her face as she shook her head. His heart sunk. "What happened?" Zuko asked looking around to Sokka and Hakoda. They all had their eyes lowered and Zuko looked down at the small Earthbender, watching the tears roll down her cheeks.

"They tied him up and lit the stage on fire. We couldn't get to him in time," Toph stated. Zuko's stomach churned with the idea of it. She continued, and the prince could hear in her voice that she was choking back a sob, "We failed." Zuko let out the breath he was holding, feeling defeated once again.

So part of what the guards' had said was true.

"Zuko?" another voice called out. He recognized the voice immediately and the Firebender's eyes scanned the room. Uncle Iroh stepped into the cell, his eyes full of worry and relief.

At the sight of his Uncle, Zuko covered his face with his hands and tears brimmed his eyes. This was too much at once. He was losing it. He'd never felt so many emotions simultaneously. Relief and mourning, joy and sorrow, anger, guilt, worry, fear—he was feeling all of it at once. He fell to his knees.

Iroh rushed forward and placed his hands on Zuko's shoulders to help him back up. "Zuko, are you alright? Your hands..." Iroh asked, pulling them away from his face.

"Uncle—" the prince choked out, his expression strained and his eyes full of shameful tears. "I—" Zuko started, "I'm sorry. I'm **so** sorry. I was stupid to have betrayed you in Ba Sing Se. I regret saying the things I said and treating you the way I did—I don't deserve it, but I'm begging for your forgivenes—"

Iroh embraced Zuko, stopping him from saying anymore.

Uncle Iroh spoke sincerely, holding his nephew, "Zuko, you never need to ask for my forgiveness. I never felt betrayed or angry with you. I was sad. And I was afraid. I was afraid that you had completely lost your way."

The room fell silent for a moment, while Zuko lost himself in the sea of emotions washing over him.

Toph reluctantly cut in, "Look, I know you two haven't seen each other in some time and have lots of things to talk about, but—umm— "

Iroh released Zuko from his embrace. "You're right, Toph," Iroh agreed calmly, wiping the tears from his eyes. His eyes glistened as they led their way back to Zuko. He added sincerely, "I am proud that you have found your own way." Zuko chuckled with his Uncle's understanding words and wiped the tears off his face, trying to pull himself together.

Another terrifying screech sounded out, bouncing off the walls of the dungeons and sending chills up and down Zuko's spine.

The Firebender spun around, his eyes wide, now facing the two Water-tribe natives. "Katara—!" Zuko called out.

Hakoda and Sokka's faces reflected the same horrified expression. "What!? Is that her? Where is she?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"With Ozai!" he answered, heading toward the door. The looks of horror bounced off each of the faces in the small cell. Sokka let out a strained noise, his face losing all of its color. "Follow me!" Zuko ordered as he passed the two Water-tribe men and rounded the corner.

"Wait, Zuko—!" Iroh called after his impulsive nephew, "We should form some sort of plan—" Toph looked up at the older Firebender.

"That's not really his style, y'know," she informed. Iroh sighed and nodded.

"Yes. I know," he agreed, frowning a little, "But we can't just all go rush the Firelord. It's not a good idea."

"Well, regardless of that, rushing in seems to be the plan we're going with. So we'd better hurry and go catch up to them," the blind girl replied flatly. She smirked at the gray-haired Firebender and headed out the door. "C'mon, old man." Iroh smiled after Toph and followed her down the corridor and up the stairs. As he climbed the stairs, Iroh's smile faded into a frown as the reality of the situation donned on him. They would have to be the ones to take Ozai down. It wasn't right. It wasn't the way it was meant to happen. The Avatar was the only one able to save the world from this sort of evil. And because of that, the leader of the White Lotus was doubtful that they would win this fight. His eyes drifted to the top of the stairs, watching Zuko lead the pack. Iroh furrowed his brow as another thought donned on him.

No, they had to win.

And they had to ensure prince Zuko would come out of it alive. The prince was not the Avatar, but he was important. He was a great leader. His heart was honest, pure and strong—the prince had the next best chance of restoring balance to their broken nation by ending the war. The goal of achieving peace between the nations would be much more difficult not having the Avatar's help. But as he watched Zuko display this amount of courage, Iroh could see that it was not impossible.

It now fell on Zuko's shoulders to save the world.


End file.
